Vivid Entirety
by echo.lied
Summary: Despite being homeless, Takahashi Shion wouldn't say she has nothing to lose. And after being hired by a certain white haired senpai, she didn't think her already not-so-ordinary life could become even more extraordinary. Laughter, determination, sorrow and a little bit of love … welcome to her vivid entirety
1. Chapter 01: Bad Luck

Hey~ Just thought I'd mention that this is an AU story told in a mixture of first and third person. Er, that's pretty much it, but I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns Bleach, by the way, not me.

* * *

~ Vivid Entirety ~

_Chapter 1: Bad Luck_

'So that's how you complete this problem, however you have to be sure to use this formu-,'

The door opened sharply causing the heads of everyone in the class to turn, confusion plain on more than one face as they stared openly. Whispers ran amongst the students as they tried to figure out what was going on, then quiet giggling sounded and smirks appeared once they realised what must have happened.

The teacher, a tidy man in his early thirties, adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat loudly, 'Excuse me, but what's your name and what year are you in?' upon receiving no reply or any indication that he'd been heard, he continued edgily, 'This is Class 1 for Third Year Seniors,'

After a long pause, the student standing inside the doorway looked up, the movement painstaking, her green eyes scanning the classroom slowly. The blank expression on her face turned into one of intense bewilderment and her cheeks coloured faintly, 'M-my apologies, teacher,'

She bowed deeply, turned hastily on her heel and walked straight into the doorframe.

There was an awkward silence and then she reeled backwards and collapsed on the floor in a dead faint.

* * *

'Takahashi Shion~ Are you awake now? Takahashi~,'

Someone's gentle, lilting voice sounded by my ear and I opened my eyes carefully, expecting to be blinded by the fluorescent lights of the infirmary and getting exactly that. Although my hand felt unnaturally heavy, I managed to move it over to cover my eyes, thankful for the relief.

'Takahashi, are you alright?' the nurse, Ms Watanabe, gazed down at me from her seat beside the bed I was in, soft brown eyes showing her concern, 'You fainted before, do you remember that?'

I thought back, mind still groggy, trying to recall the morning's events. … Oh. That's right. I wandered into the wrong classroom like some neighbourhood idiot and managed to add injury to insult by walking right into the doorframe on my way out. My cheeks warmed again when I recalled the shock I'd felt, even in my muddled mental state, and the chilling embarrassment. It was probably a good thing I fainted, considering everything, and it shouldn't be too hard for me to avoid the students from that class from now on.

'Takahashi?'

I removed my hand from my face and blinked, stuttering slightly when I started talking, 'S-sorry! Ah, yes. I can remember fainting. Er, but I feel completely fine right now!' I sat up enthusiastically, ignoring the way my head spun from the sudden movement, 'My blood pressure is lower than average and I didn't really sleep last night because I was studying. I'm a scholarship student here, so I have to make sure my grades don't drop. At the end of last year, my rank position wasn't as high as it was supposed to be so I have to work harder or else they'll end my scholarship, you understand,'

I spoke quickly, ranting on and on in the hopes that she'd just let me go without any more fuss. I wasn't lying exactly, because I had been studying last night and I was a scholarship student _and _my grades had fallen last year. Not to mention the fact that my blood pressure _was_ low. But, despite all that, none of those things were the exact reason why I'd been in such a confused state this morning, although in retrospect they'd probably contributed a lot to the problem.

'Oh, is that so?' Ms Watanabe smiled and it wasn't the first time I'd noted that the students who called her pretty weren't wrong, 'Well then, you can go back to class, but don't overwork yourself again like this, alright? We can't have you fainting all the time, Takahashi,'

'This is the first time,' I protested in a weak manner, silently thankful that this was all she'd be saying and that I was allowed to go. If she'd said she'd have to contact my parents or something like that, _then_ I'd have been in trouble.

Ms Watanabe was a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties, with long light brown hair and warm eyes. She really meant well, and under any other circumstances, I'd probably have really appreciated that. But as it was, it was better if I didn't attract her attention too much.

'Stay healthy, Takahashi,' she smiled that sincere smile, her whole expression completely genuine, and I felt a pang of guilt, 'And I hope you do well in all your studies, ne? Good luck and work hard!'

I swung my legs off the bed, standing up and dusting down my black skirt, 'Thank you very much!'

After bowing, I exited the infirmary, making sure to pass through the centre of the doorway this time. I inhaled deeply once I was out the door. Hopefully the rest of the day wasn't going to be anything like the morning.  
But really, things couldn't get any worse, right?

* * *

'Yo! Takahashi Shion, you damn troublemaker! First day back at school and you're already making a huge fuss! Can't stay out of trouble for one second, can you? I don't know _what_ we'll do with you,'

I grinned at the sound of the familiar voice, 'Oh how dare you call me a troublemaker! You're the one who brought chaos to our class trip last year by appearing in the girl's dormitory in the middle of the night! I'm surprised you weren't expelled! Ya, Sato Akihiro, control this immature fool would you?'

'Nakamura,' Hiro's tone was withering, and I chuckled when our noisy friend twitched in irritation, 'Try to act a little more responsibly. We're Second Years now so we're supposed to be setting some sort of example for our kōhai. If they start copying you, the world will have more idiots to deal with,'

'Hey! What's with this _Nakamura_ crap? You guys gonna start treating me like I'm a stranger, are ya?' Sho seemed legitimately worried, although it wouldn't be the first time he tried for sympathy by doing that, 'And here I was about to say 'welcome back'. You did miss all the morning classes after all,'

Sighing deeply, Hiro ignored the sniffling teenager and turned to me, 'Here,' I accepted the proffered papers, 'I made copies of my notes from this morning, you don't need to thank me. Now let's eat, or we'll be hungry for the rest of the day,'

I nodded and watched as he walked away to our usual seat underneath one of the older trees; the shade it provided was really the best. Then I crouched down beside Sho, 'Thanks for worrying about me, it's good to know you guys aren't just faking it. That is to say, being my friends,'

He scratched his head, fingers ruffling his tawny brown hair, and then he grinned, 'Good to know you're not immune to mistakes. Makes me feel a whole lot better, there being the two of us,'

'Oh please, I have a long way to fall before I reach your level of insane idiocy,' dragging him behind me, I moved over to where Hiro was waiting, an ever-patient look on his face, 'I know you said not to but by the way, thanks for those notes. I'm sure I would've been dead without them,'

'Dead? I'm sure you're overreacting again, Shion,' he continued to eat his food, utterly unconcerned, but was shortly drawn into an argument with Sho, who was possibly the only person who could do so with such speed and efficiency … if at all.

Those two are my closest friends; Sato Akihiro and Nakamura Sho. I met them on my first day at this school, exactly a year ago, and despite the fact that my first impressions can sometimes be terrible or lost in the fourth dimension, we got along well enough right from the start. The fact that they're in my homeroom class again this year is something that makes me extremely happy and relieved. They're personalities are almost polar opposites though, so even if they're childhood friends, I don't know how they ended up becoming so close.

Hiro is your stereotypical 'high-intelligence' student, minus the glasses. He's shorter than Sho but not by much, has black hair in a neat style, and perceptive deep blue eyes. On the other hand, Sho has unruly russet coloured hair and energetic hazel eyes. One wears the uniform to the book and the other often forgets his tie, leaves his top button undone, or wears mismatching socks. One, like me, is a scholarship student while the other is the third son from a damn wealthy family.

Still, maybe it's their differences, whether in personality or background, which somehow help them connect. Either way, I'm glad they found something in me to relate to, or else school would probably be pretty lonely and less than half as entertaining.

'Hey, look over there,' Sho gestured behind me with his chin, speaking through a mouthful of food.

Giving him a look of distaste, I turned around, noticing that most of the other students around us in the spacious courtyard were doing the same. After seeing everyone's slightly awed looks, and the fairly dreamy expressions on the faces of some of the girls, I'd already guessed that one of the school's most privileged students must be passing by.

Sure enough, the Academy's resident 'ice prince' was walking along the path, across the courtyard from where we were, talking to a man I assumed was some kind of attendant. He's a Third Year student known as Hitsugaya Tōshirō and, from what I've heard, it's not just his appearance that garnered him the title.

'Tch,' just watching gave me a headache so I turned away, focusing on my lunch.

'That's quite the frown you have there, Shion,' Sho eyed me with a teasing look, 'Are you jealous of our prince-y? Or do you secretly like him but think there's just too much competition?'

_Wham_

'Ouch! Hey, what was that for, can't you take a little joke?' he did his best to glare at me.

I frowned again, 'Just so you know, you're completely wrong whichever way,' I sighed deeply, 'It's just that people like him don't _have_ to work and _that_ is what annoys me,'

Hiro probably saved Sho, who was about to make another comment, when he glanced at his watch and said we should be getting back to class. Whether or not he noticed my thankful look, he knew me well enough to tell when our somewhat tactless friend might be putting himself in too much danger.

* * *

'Class dismissed,' our homeroom teacher, Mr Yamato, closed the textbook in front of him with a snap and nodded at us, 'I'll see you all again tomorrow. Be on time, everyone,'

After gathering all my things together and sliding them into my bag, I walked with Hiro and Sho to the front gates of the school; being a high class private school, the grounds are secluded from the town with a few rows of trees and there's a road that everyone walks to and from the buildings on. Although they could get picked up in the parking area or drop-off-pick-up roundabout, to the right of the main gates, accessible by another road, they always walked to the front with me.

'See you guys tomorrow then, alright?' I waved at them, knowing that while they lived near each other and generally took one car to and from school, I had a decent walk ahead of me.

'Yeah, bye Shion. Don't get into any more trouble,' Sho laughed and waved over his Shoulder.

'While I'm not so sure about trouble, as per se, be careful anyhow,' Hiro smiled almost imperceptibly, 'See you tomorrow then, Shion,'

'Likewise,' after watching them depart in the familiar sleek black car, I sighed deeply. Somehow, as that air was exhaled, the daze of the morning seemed to settle back in around my mind, tugging my mental focus inwards. After all, it wasn't light matters which had caused me to wander around in confusion like that. Not at all. It caused me grief just recalling the current issue which had been steadily growing in my mind. And this was long before I'd gotten into that situation at school this morning.

「'_Look, I'm really sorry, Takahashi. I know we've had this agreement going on for a long time now and all that, but I really can't afford to keep you here since you're the only one left in the building now,' he stared at me earnestly, the age lines on his face seeming more pronounced as he silently pleaded with me, 'If I sell this block of land, then I'll have enough money for my retirement. I have a family to look after, you know. I mean, of course you'd understand; you've been living her for so many years after all,'_

_I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the throbbing in my head, 'How long have I got?'_

_He seemed to hesitate, no doubt guessing that I was hoping for a couple of weeks at least, 'Until the day after tomorrow. If you could move your things before tomorrow evening, that would be … nice,'_

_I bit back a retort, knowing that this man would never mean me any harm. This is something that he has to do for the sake of his family. An apartment block with only one tenant is obviously not viable profit wise for the landlord, especially since I've never payed the full rate._

'_I'll try to sort something out then, don't worry about me,' I forced a cheery smile, waving away his concern, 'I've always been alright, haven't I? This place is too far from the Academy anyway. I always have to walk as far as possible before catching a bus back. It was good while I was in elementary school and Junior High, but now it's about time I moved closer to my high school. I think it's a good thing this happened before school began though,'_

'_Oh really?' he sounded so relieved that I was glad that I'd acted as if everything would be alright, even if I was worried, 'That's good then. Best of luck for the future, Takahashi,' he smiled, 'But for now, I talked to my wife and she said we can store your things at our house until you find another place to live,'_

_'Seriously?! Thank you! Ah, I better be off to work now, I'll see you later,' I waved before turning and walking running in the direction of the nearest bus stop. _」

And that's how I found out that I'd no longer be able to stay in that place anymore, and ended up having to dump all of my things in my former landlord's house. Yes, and that was a more than three damned weeks ago. They were really nice people, but it was kind of awkward for me whenever I was invited in because I constantly felt like I was intruding into their family life. Consequently, I generally only went when I needed to get new clothes or something and aside from that, I'd ended up sleeping in parks, hidden behind bushes where it was hardly likely I'd be seen by any passer-bys. Which, in turn, meant that I was practically a homeless person now.

But if that was old bad news (although it was technically still _very_ current), then yesterday night's was just the icing on the illusory cake. All in all, I had four jobs – _had _being the key word there. Apparently, two of the places I worked were both getting some new, fancy equipment that would effectively put me out of not one, but two jobs. So, basically, I'd been fired because I'd become redundant.

Two jobs down, belongings in the ex-landlord's home, and living like a homeless person … I really was in a bad position, no matter which way I looked at it.

So, maybe if I withdrew the money set aside for my third year of senior then I'd be able to get by. I already doubted that I'd be able to keep my grades high enough for them to give me a scholarship for my final year as well. And due to my current circumstances, staying in school just wasn't that much of a viable option – I really had to find more work and a place to live. Yes … If I dropped out of school now, then I'd have a lot more time to find other jobs. I mean, after graduating from Junior High, I hadn't even been planning to continue my schooling and go to high school. But since I'd dropped all my jobs then and had studied like mad during that time before the entrance exams, I'd ended up doing so well that I got a scholarship offer from the Academy and, since it was full coverage, I continued without really thinking.

I'd heard about the school before; that it was located in the high class area of the very town I'd grown up in (albeit with a decent distance and some forest separating each sector) and had a mixture of students from the upper-middle and upper class. The school was also very well known for its scholarship students, one of which I ended up becoming. That whole part of town – small city actually – was a wealthy place and it was a bus ride from where I'd lived, but that's just where the school was, so I ended up doing a lot of travelling. And, compared to the area I'd grown up in … well, the class difference was obvious in any case.

For my first year, I'd focused more on school work than I probably ever had, to make sure my grades didn't drop. But I still had work and, clearly, my efforts left something to be desired because my rank position had fallen noticeably. None of my Junior High friends had gone to the Academy, but I was on reasonably good terms with my classmates, with the exception of Hiro and Sho because I could confidently call them 'friends'.

But back to the situation at hand, I was homeless and soon I'd probably be asked to move my belongings out of that house too, so I had to think of something to do in order to prevent myself from being stranded on the streets with boxes that would no doubt attract thieves, even though the contents were essentially priceless. Maybe if-

'Ack!' my foot caught on a raised piece of pavement and I was flying through the air, cursing my absentmindedness. I hit the ground hard, pulled myself up again and then staggered to one side, shoe slipping off the edge of the footpath and causing me to tumble forwards. Blinking, I had time to notice a fancy black car speeding towards me and, feeling absolutely defeated, I closed my eyes tight and waited, wondering if after everything this would be how I'd end.

* * *

A dark haired man glanced briefly at the rear vision mirror, looking at the occupant of the back seat, before returning his eyes to the road. They were almost to the house, which he was glad for, because despite being very used to the chilly and uncomfortable atmosphere, today was one of those days when his job felt a little too taxing. Returning his eyes to the road, he saw a girl walking along the footpath some distance ahead. That in itself wouldn't have been too unusual, but she was swaying from side to side, feet crossing over one another awkwardly, and looked, to put it bluntly, downright drunk. He was about to shake his head and ignore the bemusing sight, because it had nothing to do with him at all, when the girl tripped over something and fell hard. She seemed to recover because she got back on her feet, but then she stumbled right off the edge of the footpath, falling onto the road directly in front of the car. Biting back a curse, the man slammed his foot on the brakes, hoping that the car would stop before he had more than just a difficult passenger to deal with.

The car lurched to a halt and the dark haired man was out the door in a flash, hurrying to the front of the vehicle and peering down at the girl lying face down on the road. Knowing that he could cause more injury if he moved her suddenly, he knelt down beside her and laid two fingers on her neck, feeling for a pulse. He almost laughed with relief when he realised she was still alive at least, and then he looked her over for any injuries, seeing deep grazes on her palms and knees. She groaned all of a sudden, making him jump slightly, and her eyes opened a fraction, revealing a pure green colour.

'Are you alright?' it seemed like a strange question considering the situation, but since she could've been hit by a car, the car he was driving no less, he asked anyway.

Those green eyes were unmistakeably baffled, and she just stared at him for a long, heavy moment before she smiled widely and let out an awkward laugh, 'Don't worry about me. This is nothing. I don't need to go to hospital,'

And then she passed out.

* * *

I'm sure you can guess what's going to happen in the next chapter (to a certain degree anyway) but I hope you enjoyed this little introduction to _Vivid Entirety._

_Thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 02: Don't Think

_Chapter 2: Don't Think_

There was something distinctly unfamiliar about my surroundings, I could tell without even opening my eyes. The air smelt different, what I was lying on felt different and the sounds I could detect were also different. However, since this could be the afterlife and I wasn't ready to face the fact that I was dead, I didn't open my eyes. Sitting up, I stretched my arms, flinching abruptly when a sharp pain shot through my body, originating from my right shoulder and travelling down and across my back. It was somewhat like the pain I'd felt the last time I'd had a bruise, only a thousand times worse. My palms also stung and so did my knees, for that matter. So, unless the afterlife was a place where you could still suffer from discomforts such as these, then …

I wasn't dead?

Shocked, I almost opened my eyes before my memory reminded me that I'd fallen right onto the road in front of a car that was moving at a very fast speed. Therefore, since miracles had a habit of avoiding me within a hundred mile radius, I _had_ to have been hit. Which meant that I had to be dead. Which meant injuries when you're dead hurt just as much as if you'd still been alive, although I'd always imagined that the process of dying would be considerably more agonising than the pain I was feeling.

What in the world was going on?

'I see you're awake now,'

A rather businesslike voice sliced through my bewilderment and I had to open my eyes, blinking as sudden brightness assaulted me. Somehow, it was a déjà vu experience. Noting the fact that this was the _second _time I'd passed out in a single day, I came to the conclusion that this was definitely not a good habit to fall into. In any case, I was rather surprised to find myself lying on an expensive looking lounge in a tidy, modern but somewhat monochrome sitting room. Since this was definitely not my idea of the afterlife, I was rather happy as I decided that I really wasn't dead after all. Glancing at my hands, I noticed that they'd been bandaged lightly and there were plasters on my knees where my socks had been torn. Even with all of my current problems, I was glad that things had turned out like this and no worse. However, despite sorting all that out, there were still a lot of unanswered questions in my head.

'Where am I?' my voice sounded normal, that was something at least, 'What happened?' she grimaced, 'And if this is the afterlife, I must lodge a complaint about the décor,'

The man sitting in the armchair across from me gave off a similar air to Hiro, somehow. He had black hair that was slightly on the shorter side, cut in a professional manner, and dark grey eyes. He was also wearing spectacles and that just completed his formal image.

'You were almost hit by the car I was driving,' he adjusted his glasses, 'You're lucky it's a new, expensive vehicle which works exactly as well as promised or else you might have more than a badly bruised shoulder right now. The braking systems in vehicles such as that one are evidently exceptional,' the way he spoke was formal also, exceptionally polite even though he should've been speaking to me more informally – I was only a student after all, 'I don't know if you recall, but you asked not to be taken to a hospital and, after ascertaining that you weren't badly injured, I simply brought you back here to this house. You were still unconscious, after all. So, no, this is not the afterlife,' he paused before continuing, tone revealing nothing of his emotions, 'And my apologies for the décor,'

I paused, looked at my surroundings again and then studied him carefully, 'Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. Erm … so you brought me here after … oh yes, that's right; I passed out, I remember that of course,' I shifted into a more offensive position, 'You're not a pervert, are you? I mean, bringing an unconscious high school girl back to your house and such,'

He actually chuckled, and I stopped glaring so intensely although I was still on edge, 'No, no,' he was about to say more but started laughing again, having apparently found what I said highly amusing. After a moment he composed himself, although there was still a hint of a smile hovering on his lips, 'No, sorry for not explaining the situation in more detail. My name is Sasaki Kenichirō. This house isn't mine; I just drive the car, make sure appointments are kept, and ensure my master's safety,'

'Your master?' I stared at him, knowing I must sound ignorant. For some reason I kept getting mental images of Sasaki Kenichirō, this tidy looking person, acting like a loyal puppy. It was strange enough that I chuckled aloud without meaning to, momentarily forgetting the current circumstances.

* * *

Kenichirō watched the black haired girl as she took in the information he gave her and then began chuckling to herself. Ignoring the fact that it made her seem slightly unhinged, he noted the uniform that she was wearing. Dark blazer, black skirt, collared white shirt, thick crimson ribbon tie, black school shoes … and although this particular student wore black thigh high socks when he was sure the average requirement was just below the knee … it was undoubtedly the female version of his young master's school uniform. Indeed, seeing as the only differences between the two uniforms were trousers instead of skirts and regular ties instead of the ribbon ones, he couldn't really be wrong. The young master hadn't mentioned anything about it when they were in the car, but then again, he hadn't spoken a word, just nodded when asked if they should take the girl back to the house. Still, just to be absolutely certain …

'What was your name? And what school do you go to?' he realised he hadn't answered _her_ question, but figured he'd get to that later if a certain someone didn't show up and explain things himself.

'Oh, right! I forgot about that, guess that's pretty rude of me. I'm Takahashi Shion and I attend Magnolia Cross Academy,' she winced slightly when naming the school and he wondered why.

In any case, his suspicions had been confirmed and he wondered when she'd ask about whose house they were in. She seemed like an intelligent person – well, she'd have to be to get into that school – and the wariness she'd shown of him had nicely contradicted his initial impression of her when she'd been staggering along the footpath. He could also guess that she was inquisitive, but maybe a little too quick to trust people, although he didn't know if the latter was her normal behaviour or if nearly being hit by a car had rattled her mind a bit and altered her reactions. It was good to know she wasn't a complete airhead though, because he was never quite sure how to deal with situations involving those types of people – or, more like, he got too tired too quickly, and that was just no good at all. Most likely, that sort of behaviour was simply too much of a contrast to what he usually dealt with.

That was the simplest explanation, anyway.

* * *

I don't know why the school has that name, it's _really_ beyond me. There's probably a reason; some deep and meaningful story from the past that has enough significance to have caused the school to be named like it was. But still, _Magnolia Cross_, I have never been able to comprehend it at all. One of the girls in my class said that, in the language of flowers, magnolias symbolises dignity, so I guess that kind of makes sense. However, it's still quite embarrassing for me to say that every time someone asks. If any of my old Junior High friends heard that's where I was going to school, they'd get a great laugh out of it.

This wasn't the time nor place though, to be worrying about such trivial things. I was still in the house of someone I didn't know and most likely the house was located in a place I didn't know as well. Consequently, if this guy or his so-called 'master' did actually turn out to be super scary perverts, then my plan of attack would be to find the kitchen, get a knife, find a phone and then call for help. If that failed, or became an impossible option for some reason, then I'd have to find the door and run away like I was trying to escape from hell. Still, both plans seemed to involve way too much 'finding' and in a house that they knew and I didn't, it was obvious I'd be at a considerable disadvantage. Not to mention I wouldn't _really _want to brandish a knife against anybody. So … what to do, what to do, what to d-

'She woke up?'

At the sound of the new voice, younger than I'd expected if this was the aforementioned 'master', my train of thought derailed violently and I fixed my stare on the floor next to Kenichirō's polished shoes. So what if I had something that vaguely resembled a plan, this was still such a disagreeable state of affairs.

'Yes, as you can see,' Kenichirō was looking to his right, a place that was currently my blind spot, and his tone seemed to triple in formal-ness, although there was another underlying tone that I couldn't pick, 'You didn't mention that she attends the same school as you do,' I was surprised when he smiled faintly, 'She's not badly hurt, just severe bruising on her right shoulder and some grazes. She doesn't appear to have suffered any trauma to the head either,'

'Good, I suppose,'

I was hyper aware of the otherwise unobtrusive sound of his footsteps, which obviously indicated that he was moving closer, and froze when I saw the tips of his shoes enter my peripheral vision. For some reason, I was incredibly tense even though I couldn't rationally think of a decent explanation why. Or, at least, not an explanation that my conscious mind wanted to hear. For some reason, the part of my brain which constantly rebelled against reason kept ranting on and on about how I seemed to have fallen into one of those shōjo mangas the girls at school talked about. It was a mildly frightening thought.

'What's your name?' I assumed he'd turned to look at me, because his voice sounded more direct.

'Takahashi Shion, Second Year at M-,' I finally looked up … and decided that fate had some deep, poisonous grudge against me and was out to make my life as miserable as possible – and I didn't really want to believe in fate so that just made things immeasurably worse. White hair …

_'Oh_, you,'

* * *

While the atmosphere had been quite normal in the living room while Kenichirō and I were talking, after the sudden appearance of his 'master', things seemed to get progressively colder. However, after my bluntly spoken 'oh you', upon which Kenichirō sent me a deeply taken aback look, the good ol' mercury would've dropped below zero.

Kenichirō seemed to decide that the deadly aura in the room was not good for anyone's health, so he spoke, 'Do you two know each other, by any chance?' he turned to the right, 'Hitsugaya-sama?'

'No …' Hitsugaya spoke after another long pause, voice a few degrees colder than before, and it might have been my imagination, but I was sure he sounded ever so slightly curious.

While I was maintaining a mostly blank façade, internally I was running in circles as I tried to figure out what the hell I should do. Of all the fancy cars that moved around this whole, why did it have to be his car that nearly ran me over? Which meant … this was his house? Somehow it was more 'normal' than I might have imagined, but that wasn't saying much. And- Did he _have_ to keep staring at me like that? I could feel myself being frozen solid by that look.

However, someone used to say to me that for every bad situation, there has to be something good that comes from it. So … all I had to do was find out how to use this predicament to my advantage.

'Sorry, no- I mean, I don't think we've ever met personally, Hitsugaya-_senpai_,' I bowed on reflex, stressing the much more polite form of address and practically directing my words at Kenichirō because that was a heck of a lot easier, 'Since we go to the same school, I've seen senpai around the place before … but we're in different years and all…'

'Is that so,' the dark haired man nodded, although I could tell he was still confused as to why I'd reacted like I had not so long ago. Thankfully though, he didn't voice that question. Instead, he asked something else, 'Ah, if you don't mind me prying, may I ask why you were so preoccupied that you staggered along the footpath in that fashion and then fell onto the road?'

Since answering that question truthfully could go two ways for me, I had to be careful. But in the end I decided honesty was the best course of action, 'Well, I was distracted because I was tied up in my thoughts. Yesterday I was fired from two of my jobs so my income has been halved and that's greatly troubling for me,' I trailed off and lowered my gaze, letting my fringe shadow my face.

Movement to my left made me twitch slightly, as Hitsugaya Tōshirō sat down, 'You-,'

_Why do I feel like this is going to be bad?_

'You're that girl who walked into my classroom this morning and passed out,'

I choked out a weak laugh, sweatdropping, 'That's right, er, I didn't know it was your class though,' I was clenching my hands together so tightly that my knuckles had gone white, 'Funny how these things happen,'

'Indeed,' his tone was icy cold, and I wasn't sure his voice was normally like that or if I'd done something at some point in my life to have made him hold a deeply profound grudge against me.

To my horror, Kenichirō stood suddenly and said he'd go and get some refreshments. It was all I could do not to leap from the lounge I was seated on and grab onto his leg to stop him from leaving.

It was actually pretty strange, when I thought about it, that I felt so on edge simply being in the same room as Hitsugaya. I'd met people who had more dangerous presences than him before, but then again, I'd generally been on neutral ground at the time. Right now, I was in his house after nearly being hit by his car and now I was about to be served refreshments by his … wait, what was Kenichirō anyway. I know he'd said he drove the car and managed schedules, but what did you call someone who did that sort of stuff? A manager? And there I was, going and getting side-tracked again.

Looking around the room and glancing out the window, I realised that although this was no mansion or vast traditional residence, it was still a two storey house, probably 2LDK with the addition of bedrooms … and I didn't suppose that Hitsugaya cleaned it himself, or that Kenichirō did, so he must have a housekeeper. Because of his personality, the housekeeper would probably only come once a week, or maybe even a fortnight, and that hypothesis was supported by slight disorder that – if they were worth their salt – a housekeeper wouldn't have allowed. Additionally, from what I could see through the window, there was a decently sized garden around the side of the house and, like the school, this building was probably separated from the road by a driveway of some length. Housekeeper, gardener, someone who came to cook meals … well, he certainly had the money to pay for all these people.

Across the room, nearby a nice looking bookshelf that was packed as full as possible, I could see my reflection in a large mirror. Black hair that would usually fall past my shoulders tied up in a ribbon, fringe that was getting a little bit long and untidy, longer loose strands brushing my cheeks and framing my face … green eyes a splash of colour against pale skin. I really looked like some raggedy kid off the street who'd found a fancy uniform, pulled it on, and then gone to a masquerade ball at one Magnolia Cross Academy without pausing for a single moment to think of the consequences.

So if I'd managed to get to my second year at the Academy, even though I hadn't thought it through … then that meant, just maybe, that if I took a wild gamble now, things could still be okay?

After taking a deep breath and a moment to calm my nerves, I stood up, pleased that I wasn't shaking at all and walked directly over to Hitsugaya, stopping a few paces before him, noting the surprise in his teal coloured eyes. Swallowing my pride, I dropped to my knees and pressed my forehead to the ground – although as I bowed, it struck me that this was both old fashioned and so formal that he might think I was being insulting. But, as I wasn't supposed to be thinking about anything I was currently doing, I ignored that fact for now; setting the whole thing aside to be ashamed about later.

'What are you doing?' I don't know if I imagined it, but I thought he almost stuttered.

That gave me the courage to look up at him as I sat back on my heels, 'Senpai! You have people who come and work here to keep this place orderly, right? You pay them all for what they do, right? But to you, it doesn't matter who the money goes to as long as the work is done properly, right?!' I was vaguely aware that the volume of my voice was rising, and that if I wasn't careful, soon I'd be shouting at him, 'So please hire me! I've done housekeeping and gardening before so I have experience with both of those jobs. Er, but with cooking you might need to keep employing someone until I've practiced a little … I mean, for years my favourite food was instant ramen so … yeah,'

I finished somewhat lamely, thinking that I shouldn't have pointed out my weaker point straight out like that. Since I couldn't continue holding his gaze (because it seriously felt like I was being electrocuted), I stared at my hands, resisting the urge to shuffle back to a safer distance away from him. The fact that he hadn't said anything yet wasn't at all that reassuring but I was prepared to wait, because I honestly had nothing to lose anyway.

What … even if he got me expelled from the Academy for one reason or another, I'd been planning to drop out anyway. If he gave me the jobs though, I'd have an assured income and then I'd still be able to go to school … although the issue with the apartment hadn't been sorted out yet.

I scoffed silently, berating myself for thinking something like 'throw it all to hell, I've got nothing to lose'. In some senses, it was certainly true. But in another, the one I'd put before anything else, it was definitely _not_ true. So I must've been caught up in the flow of things to even _consider_ thinking that.

'Hitsugaya-sama?' Kenichirō had returned with a tray of drinks and he gazed at the white haired teenager, 'It doesn't sound like a bad arrangement,'

I reminded myself to thank the man sometime later, especially if I got the jobs. Clearly he'd been working for Hitsugaya for a long time, because it seemed like his words were being taken into consideration. A kind and decent person, Sasaki Kenichirō was, I'd say.

Hitsugaya looked at Kenichirō and then he glanced down at me, icy teal eyes completely unreadable, and then he shrugged almost imperceptibly, 'Fine, think of this coming fortnight as a probation period,'

I could've cried I was so relieved. The whole matter of finding a place to move my things to seemed vastly inconsequential all of a sudden. This was a large house and no doubt the fee my predecessors had charged had been high considering who they'd been working for. Even if it made no sense at all to me as to why he'd agreed so easily like that, seeing as he didn't know me from a bar of soap and I could've been a suspicious person with evil intent, I was still thankful. Hell, I wondered if they'd run a background check on me. That thought was mildly unpleasant, and it brought me back down to earth, abruptly putting an end to my emotional high.

Hitsugaya stood and walked in the direction of the staircase which he'd come down. Kenichirō seemed to be waiting for something, his expression startlingly devious, and just as his young master was about to place his foot on the first step, he spoke again, this time directing his words at me, 'I suppose you'll be working here every day? This house is large and when I'm not here Hitsugaya-sama is alone, so you can stay in one of the spare rooms upstairs free of charge if you don't have a place of your own. Or, even if you do, surely staying here would be easier? One of the spare bedrooms has its own bathroom so there'll be no problem like that. Ah, until you start making the food, we'll deduct the price of your meals from your pay – you can eat what the master does,' he smiled brightly, 'And, of course, your daily wage will be calculated fairly. Does all that sound alright, Takahashi Shion?'

Risking a glance to the staircase where an increasingly ominous aura was emanating from, I weighed up my options. Either I could just retract everything I'd said, thank them for letting me recover there, leave this place and then hope Hitsugaya wouldn't destroy my school life somehow in revenge for the inconvenience I'd caused … or I could pretend I didn't notice his threatening glare, stay here and work for the good pay, and hope the atmosphere didn't crush me sooner than later. With the whole spare room business, I didn't feel at all uneasy about staying in this house. Maybe I was being too careless or unquestioning, but somehow I just couldn't imagine Hitsugaya trying anything indecent … not in a thousand years, even though I hardly knew him at all. And, of course, having a room; a place to move my belongings to, would mean I didn't need to trouble my former landlord anymore. Not to mention I'd no longer be homeless!

I inhaled very slowly, eyes sliding half shut, and then I looked up at Kenichirō with a grin spreading across my face, 'It sounds great,'

* * *

Thanks again! Oh, a quick note: Hitsugaya's personality might seem to have been altered a little, but since quite a lot of this story is told from Shion's perspective, she might see things slightly differently. Also, being an AU setting, adapting his demeanour to fit an older, more serious character was also a bit of a challenge. However, I hope you don't mind too much!  
Another thing (which I almost forgot) ... I know that when speaking, 'senpai' is pronounced 'sempai', but in this story I've just used 'senpai', as it's written.


	3. Chapter 03: Maid Trauma

_Chapter 3: Maid Trauma_

My name is Takahashi Shion. I'm sixteen years old and a Second Year Senior at Magnolia Cross Academy. A couple of weeks ago, I was fired from two of my jobs and, long before that, politely kicked out of my apartment, upon which I became a homeless person. On the first day of school, I passed out in the wrong classroom and on my way home, I was almost run over by an expensive black car. Now, I work at the house of a Third Year student named Hitsugaya Tōshirō.  
Out of all the families who send their children to the Academy, the Hitsugaya family is one of the most influential. However, Magnolia Cross is mainly a place for upper-middle class people, and there are a decent number of scholarship students too. Students from the upper class who _do_ attend, are generally third sons who don't have as much expectation on them, or daughters. Still, the percentage of teenagers from rich families who attend the Academy is considerably high, I wonder how that works…-

* * *

'Takahashi?!' Mr Yamato frowned at the girl who was staring out the window absently, 'Could you please pay a little more attention? Or is there something far more important on your mind?'

Shion jerked her head around, waving her hands apologetically, 'No, sorry!'

The teacher hmmph'd but went back to what he'd been doing and Shion, despite her best efforts, went back into her own little world. There was a reason Sho called her 4-dimensional, after all. Apart from thinking about statistics, the teenager was also dwelling on the recipes she'd read before school that morning in the cook book she'd borrowed from the library. Over the last two weeks, she'd been trying one new recipe each morning before school and another when she got back in the afternoon. She was fitting in her culinary study around her homework and, while she wouldn't easily admit it, she was enjoying learning. Even if the products of her hard work were a still far cry from being edible.

The food that Hitsugaya ate (well, she did too but that was left overs), made by the chef who came to the house to cook breakfast and dinner, wasn't anything high-class-restaurant-style as Shion had feared. So she thought that with a bit of practice and determination, someday in the near future she'd be able to present something to Hitsugaya and Kenichirō to try.

_Why _am_ I enjoying that, actually? I've always hated housework – gardening is better – but right now, just like in the past, I'm putting my personal feelings aside in order to continue receiving my good pay, _she fiddled with her pencil, still staring out the window without seeing anything, _Despite the fact that this is the last day of the school week, meaning I've stayed at that house for nearly two weeks, I've hardly spoken to Hitsugaya at all. Our verbal exchanges normally start with 'have you eaten?' continue with 'yes' and then that's the end of it – and _I'm _always the one asking the question in the first place! Kenichirō always has a conversation with me whenever he's there and he each time, he generally asks me whether I'd like to be taken to school along with Hitsugaya in the car … but I always refuse. As if I could do that. Not only would the ambience in the car be terrible, but if the other students saw me coming to school with Hitsugaya … or if they even knew I was working at his house, _her expression went stormy with fear and resentment, _Goodness, it would practically be the end of me. They'd make my life a living hell … especially the girls._  
Shuddering, she finally came back to reality when Sho tapped the back of her chair with his foot. Leaning forward, he glanced at the teacher and then whispered quickly into her ear, 'Good thing I sit behind you, right? Stop zoning out and pulling faces, you look like you've gone insane!'

Shion turned around slightly and, unsurprisingly, pulled a face. However, she knew he'd interpret that as a 'thank you'. It wasn't her fault entirely that she was so distracted. A lot of things had happened already and it was only the second week back at school. Even if she'd been staying in the same house as Hitsugaya Tōshirō, she still felt like a complete stranger whenever she saw him passing through the school. Why exactly it bothered her was something she didn't understand. Kenichirō, on the other hand, was someone she viewed as a comrade in arms. He contacted her occasionally on the phone she'd been given, sometimes to tell her about Hitsugaya's schedule and others to ask her to go to the supermarket for something. She was still quite overwhelmed that she'd been given a phone, having never owned one before, and she always smiled when she remembered her reaction at being given it.

「_Kenichirō smiled and slid the phone across the table, 'Since we have to be able to contact you, you can use this phone. It's not the latest model or anything, but it works perfectly well and you did mention before that you didn't have one,'_

_I stared at the device suspiciously, my thoughts going in the direction that this was some evil plot of Hitsugaya's to make me max out on the phone bill and be in his debt, 'I don't think I can accept th-,'_

'_Think of it as a complementary payment. It's for our, or more specifically, _my _convenience. Since Hitsugaya has certain events to attend occasionally, I have to have a way of telling you he won't be home. Also, I'm planning on having the chef come only to make dinners very soon, so I hope your culinary studies are going well. Because of that, you can start buying the groceries so that you become accustomed to the task,' he smiled, having figured out what I'd been thinking, 'And you can tell your school friends the number if you like. Despite what I've said just now, it'll be your personal phone even if you're not the one paying the bill. The only time you'd have to start doing _that_ is if you stop working here, because you'd be taking the phone with you,' he paused as he fished something else out of his pocket, 'And here's a house key, no doubt you'll be needing that,'_

_My heart couldn't work out whether to stop or start racing. It was really incredible that, even though I'd turned up out of the blue, I was being treated so well. Smiling brightly, I picked up the phone, turning it over in my hands carefully, and then the key, 'Thank you very much!' _」

Shion figured she'd be eternally grateful to the people who'd given her that device. Not only had she given her friends a number to contact her on, but she'd finally been able to fill out that little box on the contact details form where it said 'cell phone number'. Still, not everything was so sunshine and roses working for Hitsugaya. She understood the reason they had to be careful when employing people, because even if the family certainly wasn't one of the country's most powerful (where newspapers would report on stuff they did … or something) they were still very influential and so there would undoubtedly be some evil-minded people out there who'd probably rather see them out of the way.

And what better way to bring an old, formidable bloodline to its knees than getting rid of its young heirs?

Sure enough, the very night after she'd been hired and Kenichirō had helped her move her things into the house from her ex-landlord's place, the bespectacled man had given her a serious talk. She'd been told that if she stole anything or hurt the young master and then tried to run, the Hitsugaya family had enough contacts that she'd probably caught within the next 24 hours if not less. Shion, naturally, had taken that very seriously, but since she hadn't even thought about doing anything of the sort, she wasn't too worried. Sure, she wanted money, but she was going to work hard to earn it, not grab something that looked valuable and try to sell it off somewhere shady like a common thief. She still had her pride.

'See you all after lunch,' Mr Yamato completed the lesson and, although he did send an irked look in Shion's direction, he didn't say anything else on the fact that her mind was obviously elsewhere.

Sho grinned at his two friends as they exited the classroom. He was always one of the first out the door, and one of the last to re-enter the classroom of his next subject, but surprisingly enough, he was an above average student when it came to grades.

'I have to go; family thing and all – but I'll be back tomorrow, okay?' his bright smile seemed to be shadowed slightly, 'Hope they're not going to get too serious on me this time,'

As he disappeared out the door in the direction of the car park, Shion frowned, 'He really doesn't like those so called 'family things' does he … you'd know better than me; the reason why,'

Hiro lips curved upwards but I could tell he wasn't really smiling at all, 'Sho's the third son, he doesn't have as much expectation on him, unlike his older brothers, but his family still won't just let him go run wild or anything,' he sat down at their usual spot and Shion followed suit, 'Next year's our last school year, right? They'll be patronising him over his rank position, his behaviour, probably even us – the people he calls friends. After graduation, he'll probably take over a minor branch of one of the families businesses – or that's what they'll _tell_ him to do … And there'll be sending him match-making photos next year … if they don't actually drag him off to a match-making session that is,'

Shion, despite knowing that the world people like Sho lived in was completely foreign to her, nodded her head. To lighten the mood, she chuckled, 'At least we don't have to worry about things like that … I can't imagine what it would be like going to a match-making session,'

Hiro smiled slightly and Shion almost sighed in relief, glad that she'd done that much at least. She could remember going to one of Sho's family's houses once, along with Hiro, and the looks that the people there had given her (whether they were servants or relatives of varying degrees) had been absolutely infuriating. They hadn't had a problem with Hiro, seeing as they'd known him as Sho's friend for years, but they obviously didn't trust her at all. The suspicious and critical looks had accused her of being a loose woman without morals who was probably trying to manipulate their young master and steal his money. Just remembering it made her cheeks flush with indignation.

However, after she'd come and gone a few times, always with _both_ her friends and not just Sho, they seemed to finally accept that _their _first impressions of her were off the mark. Shion, also, was forced to admit that there really were some decent people working or residing in that place.

Still, for there to have been such misunderstandings at all, made her think that his family would probably be very fervent in carrying out each of the things Hiro had just mentioned. What Sho thought of it all, however, was something she'd have to ask him in person. Despite appearing to be very open with his emotions and thoughts, there were some things that troubled him which he could suppress and mask perfectly. And sometimes the best way to help was to ask about his troubles directly and other times, the best thing to do was simply pretend you hadn't noticed anything odd and that nothing was wrong. As his friends, they had to make that judgement for themselves.

'You're unexpectedly easy to read at times, Shion,' there was a smile in Hiro's voice, 'Don't worry about him too much. If you overthink the situation, I guarantee nothing good will come of it,'

Looking across at him, Shion was about to speak when her pocket vibrated, almost giving her a heart attack. Dropping her lunch container, she fumbled about, muttering how she'd forgotten to turn it off before class had started, until her fingers closed around the phone and then she drew it out triumphantly. Hiro stifled a wry chuckle at her uncharacteristically childlike behaviour as she happily flipped open the phone and stared at the screen with huge eyes.

Then he blinked in concern as her already pale skin drained of all pigmentation, leaving her looking like a petrified ghost with oversized green plates for eyes, 'Shion? Are you feeling alright?'

She looked up at him, the movement stilted like she'd become a clockwork doll and her gears weren't turning smoothly, and that awkward laugh emerged from her lips, 'Don't worry – I'm completely fine. Please excuse me for a while, Hiro, I'll be back as soon as possible,'

_As if I wouldn't worry when one of my best friends starts acting in an extremely atypical manner. Your voice sounds too strange. And really, Shion, I'm not sure if you've realised it, but you always laugh like that when you're not okay but are trying to pretend otherwise,_ Hiro watched as she stood and walked away stiffly, leaving her things behind. If he didn't trust her to come clean about the problem at some stage, he would've followed her. But trust and communication were things he wanted to believe existed between himself and his two friends, so he'd wait as long as necessary for her to explain. It was the same with Sho.

Those two were actually pretty similar in that respect.

* * *

I entered the library with intense trepidation, wondering what in the world Hitsugaya Tōshirō would need from me at this very moment. It was bad enough that I'd read the message when Hiro was watching (that guy was a keen observer and no doubt he had questions for me – although thankfully he wouldn't ask them unless I broached the subject first) but meeting my employer in school was something I'd wanted to avoid. Maybe Hitsugaya was oblivious to the fact that a lot of the girls in the school liked him so much that they'd practically formed a fan club – not to mention that, in general, he attracted people's attention even when he was just walking by. In any case, as I'd noted not even a half hour ago, if I was seen with him too often, then problems would rise up and crash down on me like a tsunami. And, as for him, I was pretty sure he'd be impervious to whatever happened. A tsunami would probably _freeze_ _solid_ before getting anywhere near him.

The snowy hair was a dead giveaway, of course, and funnily enough (or not) it was the first thing I noticed. Really, it was like a white flag that shouted 'I'm over here, you idiot'. The last part, of course, was what I thought he'd probably say if he wasn't always acting so serious – an adlib slightly out of character for my … wait, was it boss, housemate, or basically-stranger-but-we'll-say-acquaintance just to be polite? For some reason, boss sounded the most fitting, and that alone almost made me chuckle. But he _was_ someone who insisted on respect, so it kind of worked.

'B- Senpai,' I could've slapped myself when I almost called him 'boss', _just stick to senpai for goodness sake_, 'What exactly did you need to talk about?'

I stopped in front of where he was sitting in one of the library's big, comfortable chairs. The feeling was how I imagined standing in the principal's office would be like when you thought you'd been called up for doing something really bad. Thankfully, I'd only been in the principal's office three times and the reason had never been because I'd messed up or caused problems.

He looked up after a moment, an infinitesimal wave of his hand telling me I could sit, and then he spoke, 'A fortnight will have passed at the end of this coming weekend, correct?'

'That's right … and that'll be the end of my working trial,' I wondered then if he'd called me over to fire me, and if that was the case, then I really had to think of a way to change his mind.

'I don't know if Kenichirō told you this morning, but I won't be back until late this afternoon,' it seemed like he'd changed the subject, but I wasn't going to believe that so easily, 'I don't suppose that'll inconvenience you at all?'

My feelings bordering on baffled, I shook my head, 'Not at all. I've got laundry to do and then I'll be leaving the house anyway for work,' although I knew he was aware that I still held two other jobs throughout the week, I felt the need to include that too for some reason.

In the silence that followed, I just stayed stock still in my uncomfortable position and waited for him to say something else. His cold teal eyes were tracking the falling petals of the cherry blossom tree outside the window and his expression was unreadable. Abruptly, he stood and I mirrored the movement, feeling it impolite to remain seated, and then he walked off.

Stopping after a few paces, he said the words without even turning around, 'You can stay,'

I just stared at the place he'd been standing in for a long time after he'd disappeared from sight, my mind completely blank. Snapping out of it when someone nearby dropped a book, I blinked and berated myself for not saying 'thank you' or anything to that extent. Happy, surprised, anxious … I had no idea how to feel, because even though I'd kept the job, I was still working for someone who either had a serious superiority complex or was emotionally constipated to a severe extent.

_Just be happy about it, Shion. You know you need the pay, and you get a free room as well. You do _not _want to be homeless again,_ she nodded to herself as she exited the library, _And it's a large house and you haven't had a problem avoiding the boss as of yet. Relax and concentrate on school, or else you'll have an even bigger issue to worry about._

* * *

'Hurry up and change, I'll take you two over there in ten minutes, alright?' Ms Shibata stuck her head around the door and called out to us, her usual cheery smile on her face, 'Don't dawdle!'

Kouda Chiyo, another employee and someone I called a friend at work but didn't contact personally outside hours, turned around and called to me over her shoulder, 'Can you tie this up for me, Shion? Please? This uniform is always so difficult,'

Looking over at her, I grinned, having expected that, 'Of course, but only if you'll help me out too,'

I tightened the corset back of the black uniform and tied a bow with the two ribbons of the white apron – which was ever so slightly on the frilly side, much to my irritation. Then, after she'd turned around again, I adjusted her black and white lace headband so that it was sitting straight.

The café we normally worked at also recommended its employees to a catering service which supplied extra staff to restaurants and other food-related businesses. It was a good thing, because they paid more since we were going out of our way to work wherever they directed us. Ms Shibata, the owner of Himawari Café, didn't have a problem driving us to the places we needed to go. She even encouraged us to work in other locations to expand our experience. On days when business in the café was slow, she would always ring up to see if we'd be of more use anywhere else.

People like that, who had their own livelihoods to think about but still made an effort to help others … I really admired them.

'This is a pretty high class place, right? But why do we always have to wear maid uniforms?' after she'd fixed up my outfit, I pulled on my stockings and shoes, 'Seems kind of funny,'

'I know what you mean, but we've worked there before and it's nothing too strange. I think they're just going for an antique-y sort of feel. I mean, everything is decked out like some old-style European place. It's expensive, the food is high class and we have to act super polite and all. It's _that_ sort of café,' Chiyo smiled in a perfectly polite and ladylike manner, before pulling a face, 'You better start practicing, Shion,'

I scowled, knowing that she was joking but also knowing that I was sometimes a little too impatient with the customers there. Or I'd say something too cynical and she'd have to appear out of nowhere to diffuse the situation I'd caused. While working there, she was always keeping an eye on me, and I was thankful for that, or else I'd probably _never_ have been asked back.

'Good afternoon, would you like to have a seat? I'll be back in a moment to take your order,' pulling on a photograph smile and raising the pitch of my voice to sound more girly, I bowed to an imaginary customer, led them to their seat, and promptly exited from the vicinity, 'That alright?'

Laughing at my sudden reversion to my usual tone, Chiyo nodded and clapped her hands together sarcastically, 'Keep that up and maybe I won't need to jump in to save your sorry ass today,'

'Language like that'll get you kicked out, ya know,' drawling, I followed her out the door.

'Hop in,' Ms Shibata waved to us from the window of her car, 'We'll be there in fifteen,'

She'd said fifteen, but to me it felt like I'd only sat down for a few minutes before the car pulled up outside the fancy café. We thanked her and stepped out, collecting the bags which held our normal clothes from the back and walking in the back door. One of the waiters called us over and gave us a brief rundown on how things would be handled today, and then we were off.

I felt like a robot as I led people to tables, took orders, smiled, and delivered food and water all over the place. My mind ran over the chores I still had to do when I got back to the house. The laundry I'd put through the machine after school would probably need to be taken off the line tomorrow morning – there _was_ a dryer, and even though I shouldn't really have cared about the cost of running it each time, I didn't mind hanging out the washing outside and letting it dry that way. Going by the routine I'd established over the last couple of weeks, the bookshelves in the upstairs sitting room, which was practically a library, would need to be wiped down sometime soon. Dust is something that is strangely attracted to that house, much to my constant chagrin. The main bathroom also needed cleaning, although it wasn't like any guests had come to the house. Still, doing the work, even if it didn't really_, desperately _need doing, made me feel a lot better about staying in that place without paying for the room.

'Excuse me. Would you like to order anything el-,' the words died on my tongue and I froze solid, my mind going into complete shutdown.

Never, ever, under any possible circumstances did I … want anyone I knew to see me in this uniform. It was bad enough having to wear it in the first place, but it would be exponentially worse if I coincidentally met a friend, new or old, while dressed like this. And, naturally, it would be _infinitely_ more traumatising if the person I happened upon was my senpai at the Academy _and_ my boss.

_Calm down, he hasn't noticed, he hasn't noticed, _fighting against the urge to start hyperventilating, I tried to reason with myself, _He hasn't noticed that it's me yet. I mean, you know senpai … sometimes I think an explosion could happen right beside him and he wouldn't even blink. When he doesn't want to, he can block out the whole world with no effort at all. So you're safe; you're safe as long as you don't make a fuss. Just don't draw attention to yourself, take their order if they even want something else, and get someone who doesn't look busy to deliver whatever it is for you._

I smiled somewhat painfully and directed my gaze at the person senpai was sitting across from. He looked like he was in his mid-twenties, with pale blonde hair hanging around his shoulders and slate grey eyes flickering across to me. He was about to say something, and I thought I was safe, but then I sensed movement behind me and a minute shudder of foreboding ran through my whole body.

'Wha- You?!' his usually perfectly level tone was coloured with incredulity and I just could imagine his expression.

Oh, bloody hell – Hitsugaya Tōshirō had just seen me in a maid uniform.

The man I was still looking at sent him a quizzical look before returning his gaze to me, 'Oh what's this? You know her? My, my Tōshirō-chan, is this your secret fetish or something~,'

Both senpai and I glared ferociously at the smiling man, eyes gleaming with murderous intent, and my fists curled unconsciously. Knowing we were still in a public place – my work place no less – I refrained from punching him full in the face and grimaced instead, trying to restrain the violent urges which had flared along with my indignation.

'You're _quite_ mistaken,' I spat out each word from between clenched teeth, shaking slightly from the effort of restraining myself, 'For your information, I'm his h-,' at Hitsugaya's fearsome glare which was suddenly directed at me and said clearly that if I _dared_ say 'housekeeper' then he'd find a way to kill me slowly and painfully, I quickly amended what I'd been about to say, '_Friend_ _from_ _school_,'

Hoping the still smiling man didn't notice that I'd spoken a tad too quickly at the end there, I worked on relaxing all of my tense muscles. Hitsugaya seemed to be doing the same, and his expression had smoothed over once again, only a faint hint of his former irritation remaining in the form of a scowl.

'Takahashi, this is-,' he sent the man another disapproving look, seeming to hesitate before finishing his sentence, 'Kichida Isao. He's my half-cousin,'

I blinked in surprise, momentarily forgetting my ire. I wouldn't have picked this man to be a relative of Hitsugaya's. They might both have light hair (assuming no bleach was involved and it was natural), but their personalities seemed so different. I'd hardly even met this Kichida Isao, but already I got the feeling that he was definitely a carefree soul. Somehow, _philanderer _also seemed to fit.

'Nice to meet you … Takahashi,' Kichida was still smiling as cheerily as ever, 'Oh, about your question earlier, we've been here for a while – I was about to leave actually, so I won't be needing anything more. That slice was nice though,' he gestured at the empty plate before him offhandedly, and on reflex I picked it up, which ended up making him laugh, 'As usual, this place has good food _and_ good service, I see,'

My eye twitched, but I firmly kept my photograph-smile in place; I was not about to ruin the café's reputation over my own personal feelings, 'I'm pleased to hear that,' my tone was sweet.

'I'm sure you are ~,'

Argh! How much more irritating could this guy get? I was just happy to know that he'd been about to leave; hopefully he was still going to and as quickly as possible. As for Hitsugaya, I'd deal with that situation later. Unfortunately for my pride, though, I didn't have a memory eraser on hand.

'Well, Tōshirō-chan, I _do _have to get going, believe it or not,' Kichida Isao stood and brushed himself down absently, tone faintly regretful, 'It's been good seeing you again. I've had an interesting time, to say the least. Stay out of trouble, alright. You too, Takahashi,' he waved at us, 'Bye for now ~,'

Again out of customer-courtesy, I bowed to him as he walked away. Then, I suddenly wished that he'd get back her right this instant because now I was alone with Hitugaya.

'Why are you wearing that?' he sounded honestly perplexed.

The fact that I'd been dreading this conversation wasn't something I was about to let him know if I could help it. Turning to face him, and hoping none of the other staff would think I was purposefully slacking, I scowled, my tone dangerously close to being scathing, 'If you look around a bit, I think you'll find that this is the uniform,'

Maybe it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but I was sure he looked a little flustered all of a sudden. Since that uncharacteristic behaviour made me feel both triumphant and awkward, I continued briskly, 'This, er, isn't exactly what I'd call _my style … _no matter how I look at it,'

'… Right,'

Really, _why_ did this have to happen? Things couldn't have gotten any more uncomfortable.

I was saved from having to say more on that topic when he spoke again, 'When does your shift end?'

'Sometime before six,' another thing I didn't really get about this café was its late closing time. Still, there were customers right up until then, so I guess it didn't really bother the owners to leave it open longer. For me, it worked well also, because I could go back to the house after school before having to leave for Himawari Café. _And then_, I'd still get a decent paid working time, serving and then cleaning once the customers had left.

'Finish now,'

I stared at him, unable to comprehend what he'd just said, my victorious feeling flying out the window, 'W-what?'

Cold teal eyes gazed at me impatiently and I realised he was completely serious, 'Get your things while I call Kenichirō. I'll get him to put in a word of explanation for your absence,'

Okay, so I'd thought this senpai of mine was a bit cold on the outside but had to be a decent person underneath the icy exterior since he'd given me the jobs and a room so easily like that. But now, I was completely convinced that he was nothing but an A-class jerk!

'Y-you,' I was speechless. Then I thought about what being fired from _his_ service would mean, as opposed to being told by the manager here that I shouldn't come back. Defeated, I gathered the remaining glasses and plates, and set off to the kitchen.

* * *

'What did you think of my cousin?' Tōshirō didn't turn his head when he asked the question, simply continuing to gaze across at the car park, waiting for Kenichirō's appearance, 'Your first impression?'

Shion paused, distracted from her dark thoughts, and ran over the brief meeting again in her head. When she replied, her tone was deadpan, 'I think he's an unbelievably irksome, irresponsible flirt,'

She nearly jumped out of her skin when Tōshirō began laughing, his shoulders shaking.

'You realised all of that just from meeting him once?'

Feeling self-conscious, Shion tried not to stare as her white haired senpai continued to laugh, practically choking because he couldn't breathe. However illogical it sounded, she suddenly felt as if she knew him a tiny bit better.

And, whether he was an A-class jerk or not, she found that it was a very warming feeling.

* * *

So, a few new characters were introduced in this chapter, but for some reason I have the feeling that most of them won't make a proper reappearance. It's a shame really ... anyway, thanks for reading.


	4. Chapter 04: Trail After

_Chapter 4: Trail After_

Shion smiled to herself as she wandered back through the alleyways she was so familiar with. Since it was a Saturday and she didn't have any more cleaning to do, she'd decided to go out. The morning had been both amusing and gratifying. She'd gotten up earlier than usual and gone downstairs to the kitchen. Completely determined _and_ wearing a white apron mind you – although it obviously didn't have all those frills – she'd set about cooking omurice, following the recipe she'd found down to the smallest details. After messing up badly _twice_, she'd finally managed to create something that both looked edible and tasted … okay. When she'd presented the dish to Tōshirō, after he'd come downstairs, and Kenichirō, who was there to deliver some papers, they'd both tried it without comment. However, Tōshirō had given up after a few mouthfuls, his expression forcefully blank, and Kenichirō was forced to stop not long after, despite his best efforts. While the former had nothing to say on the matter, the bespectacled man had given her an encouraging smile and said she was certainly progressing. Feeling sorry for them, she'd boiled some water and made instant ramen.

That was another thing she'd learned about Tōshirō. Even if he was rich, he still liked the taste of packet ramen. It made her feel slightly better about having gone through a ramen-obsessed phase during her younger years. Returning to the point, though, she was really happy about having been able to present a meal to them, even if it was still only at _that_ level.

After arriving at the bus stop just before midday, she'd returned to the place her old apartment had been to see how things were going. The whole block was already fenced off, ready to be demolished, and she'd felt a pang of nostalgia. She _had_ spent almost her whole life living there after all, and it was a place where she'd made many of her precious memories.

It was good to come to this half of town though, away from the more expensive area. Not only was it all far more familiar, but she could easily access certain places from there that she needed to get to, not just her old apartment. For a moment after she'd stepped off the bus she'd even considered going to the Night Iris, but considering the time of day, it'd be more than likely that the place would be closed. So, logically, she hadn't bothered going out of her way.

Now, however, it was getting towards mid-afternoon so if she hung around a bit longer and caught one of the later buses back to the house, then she'd probably be able to drop by at the Iris. Still, she doubted they'd even let her through the door and it'd been too long to suddenly show up again.

She'd done most of what she'd come for and walking about aimlessly wouldn't do her any good, so she decided to keep heading in the direction she was facing. Last time she'd checked, there'd been a serene park not too far up ahead. And since 'last time' had only been three weeks ago, the park should technically still be where she thought it was unless the council had done some _really_ hasty work and made it vanish all together. If she timed it nicely, she might even be there on a days when a cherry blossom tree was blooming. In any case, since it was such a quiet little paradise on the edge of town, it would surely give her an opportunity to think deeply over a few things. She didn't really want to, but she knew she had to. Dealing with the news she'd received earlier in the day … she needed to do it before the school week started again, or else she'd _definitely_ get into trouble for being absentminded.

This was a regular occurrence. She just needed to run it through her mind slowly. She just needed to console herself like she always did. Things were going to be fine. Things were always fine. She just … she just needed a moment. Just a single moment. That wasn't too much to ask for, right?

Shion blinked rapidly and wiped the black sleeve of her sweatshirt across her eyes. She hadn't even realised that her eyes had watered but admitting that she'd been about to cry would probably make her tear up even more. Reaching behind her head, she pulled her hood up, the feeling of obscurity making her relax a little bit. Her fingertips brushed across her right eyelid and then she smoothed down her white shirt distractedly before she let her hand fall back to her side.

The sound of someone's shoe scuffing the concrete drew Shion partway from her musings. It wasn't that late in the afternoon, maybe around four, but for some reason the footsteps sounded too … careful. A ripple of tension passed through her body, not seizing her completely because she was still preoccupied within her own mind, but she tried to remain as casual as she could. Eyes flickering around quickly in an attempt to gauge her surroundings, she realised that she'd wandered into an area she knew was filled with narrow, crisscrossing alleyways that were like a maze. Nearby, if you passed through a few of said alleys, was a row of traditional houses which were occupied and beyond that was the park. Turning a corner, and hoping she still remembered the layout of the place accurately, she glanced sideways in an attempt to see the person behind her. Alarm clutched at her chest, making her heart race, and she cursed her absentmindedness. Surely that man wasn't planning on assaulting her in broad daylight. _Damn it, this can't be happening. If I hadn't been distracted, I'd never have missed noticing him. I'm getting out of shape,_ fighting down her panic, she increased her pace quickly. After turning another corner, she broke out into a full sprint, tearing along as fast as she could. Hearing the footsteps behind her quickening in response, she gritted her teeth but kept running. She slipped suddenly, hands and knees hitting the ground hard, and she cursed under her breath. Wincing, she got back on her feet only to have the wind knocked out of her as she was slammed into the wall. Ears ringing, she blinked hastily to clear the black spots from her eyes, vision gradually coming back into focus. She pushed off the brick surface and spun, lashing out with a vicious kick and feeling great satisfaction as her sneaker contacted with flesh. Fists clenched, she was about to continue her attack when the man shoved his whole weight into her, sending them both into the wall hard.

One of his hands tightened around her throat and the other pressed hard against her mouth. He breathed heavily into her ear, stinking of alcohol, and growled at her, 'Don't scream. Just shut it and stop fighting!'

She was about to bite him, her left hand clawing at his face, nails leaving rivulets of blood in their wake, when a single thought stopped her.

_Why is this?_

She was about to be molested and she had the means to keep fighting back, but for some reason her mind just wouldn't send the commands to her body. Her taut muscles slackened and the fingers digging into his face, ready to strike lightning fast to jab at his eye, uncurled. As her lungs began to burn from want of oxygen, her body went completely limp, green eyes flickering shut in defeat.

_This is … I can't- This is not- But …_

The man released her and she slid down the wall, legs folding underneath her without resistance. He glanced around as he crouched in front of her, grabbing her face roughly with his hand and bringing her head up. Shion suddenly wished that someone would appear, even if it was just so she could see a familiar face. Sho, Hiro, Kenichirō … even Hitsugaya. A finger trailed up her leg and she was almost sick when she felt it brush the bare skin of her thigh, between her socks and shorts. A lecherous chuckle emerged from the man's filthy lips, and he bent down towards her, 'Now there's a good girl,'

Her jaw clenched.

…

_LUKA!_

* * *

I flinched when the weight pressing down on me suddenly vanished, my ears registering a loud '_thud'_. Opening my eyes hesitantly, I stared at the man who'd just tried to assault me as he lay on the ground, groaning loudly and clutching his stomach. There was a red, bloodied mark on his cheek that wasn't the one I'd made with my fingernails and his nose was bleeding badly. I just gazed at him blankly, unable to properly process what had happened because I couldn't think of a reason as to why he'd be in that state.

'Hey, Takahashi Shion,'

I jerked my head around, looking up and finding myself staring right at the one and only Hitsugaya Tōshirō. He was standing only a few paces away and his expression was vaguely surprised, but not so much that I thought he hadn't already worked out who I was before seeing my face. Now, what was worse … Being seen in a frilled maid uniform, or being rescued from a rapist? Somehow, I was leaning towards the latter, especially because now he was bound to think I was weak and defenceless – the stereotypical image of a fragile, helpless girl whose strongest and only ability was to be targeted by perverts on a regular basis.

Hitsugaya took a step closer to me, extending his hand in a gentlemanly fashion. Ignoring the way my pride screamed insults at me, I accepted his help, wincing visibly as I got to my feet. Being rammed into brick walls all the time was really no good for the back, and my head ached dully as well. Not to mention I'd managed to graze my palms again when I'd slipped over as I ran.

_Really_, of all the unbelievable situations … that whole fallen-into-a-shōjo-manga idea was again an uncomfortable presence in my mind.

'Thanks,' releasing his hand, I dusted myself down carefully, trying to ignore my soreness and not let it show on my face. I was conscious of his gaze and I wondered if he'd already noticed that I was hurt. I wouldn't have put it past him; when he actually wanted to see things, he saw them very clearly.

'What should we do with that?' he gestured disdainfully at the man who was still lying on the ground and moaning. Clearly, while I'd been taking refuge from the harsh reality of my situation in my own head, Hitsugaya had beaten this guy up pretty bad. I hadn't noticed a thing my mind had been so far gone into the fourth dimension.

'Turning him in to the police by myself would be troublesome. They'd want to question me and all and quite frankly, I'm not in the mood for any of that today,' reflected in pools of clear teal, I saw my own eyes gleam wickedly, 'But it wouldn't be any good if he tries this again now, would it. What should I do? What should I do?' I tilted my head to one side in mock thoughtfulness, 'Hmm, _you, _on the other hand, would probably have a much easier time sorting this issue out,' hopefully he'd get the hint; I had exaggerated a lot, 'But just one moment please, I've got a score to settle right now,'

Whipping around, I stalked over to the man, a broad smile spreading across my face. Crouching down beside him, I grabbed one of his hands, bending his fingers back until he attempted to recoil, 'I highly doubt you'll get the chance, but if I hear that you've caused any more trouble like this, you dirty pervert you,' my tone was sweet and lilting, and I pressed on his fingers again, 'For sure I'll come find you, personally break every bone in your damned body and then castrate you with a fork. Don't think I wouldn't~'

Noticing that he paled some, I smiled again, wrenched roughly on his fingers once more just for good measure, and straightened. Walking back to Hitsugaya, who was watching me bemusedly, I bowed slightly, wondering if he'd heard everything I'd said. Goodness, what _would_ he think of me now?

'I texted Kenichirō. He'll alert the police about this guy; I sent him a photo too. If he mentions the Hitsugaya family name, this matter will be sorted quickly and without any of the fuss you mentioned before,' he turned around and began walking off, not pausing once to see if I was following.

As we stepped out of the alley and I looked about, I realised that had I turned one more corner, I'd have been out on the street where that row of traditional houses was. Since I could see a lady doing washing right from where I was standing, then there was no way that guy would've tried anything had I made it this far. I thought that sometimes, I really had the worst of luck and _terrible_ timing.

'Oh,' a question popped up in my mind all of a sudden, 'What exactly are _you_ doing here, senpai?'

I didn't know myself how I could be so casual after _that_ had just happened, but for some reason the panic and bleakness I'd been feeling not so long ago, had all but completely vanished. Maybe it was my personality, or the strange way my mind often worked. Or maybe it was the fact that someone _had_ appeared before me, just like I'd wished …

At my question, he paused, expression showing uncharacteristic hesitation, 'I was just passing through the area,'

Halting, I waited until he stopped and turned before I raised an eyebrow cynically, 'Alone? In _this_ half of town? _Without _Kenichirō?' my tone changed to a reproachful and somewhat patronising one, '… Did you run away from home, senpai?'

The look I received was just a step down from being scathing, and I resented the fact that he was taller than me because he literally got to _look_ _down_ _on_ _me_.

'I'm _allowed_ to move around unaccompanied, for your information,'

'Oh really … I didn't know that,' for some reason, I had the nagging feeling that he wasn't telling me the whole truth. However, I didn't push the matter any further, lest he decide to press me for details on what had happened back there in return. I didn't know how to explain myself, after all.

'Where were you headed?' his tone was back to being completely cool and controlled.

'The park,' my own voice was neutral, but my expression brightened when the trees came into view, 'If you're not in a hurry to go somewhere else, you should come take a look. It's a truly nice place,'

There was a hint of surprise on his face all of a sudden, and I thought he was about to say something. Instead, he just tilted his head slightly in something I interpreted as reluctant agreement. Smiling, although my eye twitched, I continued walking without comment; sometimes that attitude of his _really_ bothered me. But couldn't go getting myself fired, so forced smiling was the best option.

As we stepped onto the grass, I noticed a cherry blossom tree a short distance away. Unless my eyes were deceiving me to an insane extent, I was sure the tree had come into flower. The pale pink blossoms made me smile just looking at them. It wasn't so much the fact that the tree was in bloom, because there were ones at the school doing so and even a couple at the house. However, that tree at this specific park held many old memories for me so it was more meaningful.

I flopped down onto the grass, leaning my tender back against the trunk, and gazed at the flowers, watching closely as the petals fluttered in the wind. Hitsugaya, who still seemed amusingly 'out of his depth', for want of a better expression, eventually followed suit, although he sat on the park bench instead of the ground.

Abruptly, I had the foreboding feeling that the A-class jerk was about to make a reappearance, although this time, he seemed to have taken intensive lessons in the art of sarcasm from who knows where.

'So,' Hitsugaya turned his level gaze to me, 'You can't defend yourself for peanuts,'

A vein popped on my brow and I snapped, irked.

'Well what if I'm allergic to peanuts!?'

He gave me a long look, like I'd suddenly sprouted wings, and I almost flinched, not enjoying being analysed so closely like this. Thinking it best to speak first, I added, somewhat sullenly, 'And, for _your _information,' I mimicked his choice of words from before, every word dripping with sarcasm, 'I _can_ throw a punch without dislocating my shoulder,'

'Is that so,' his tone was sceptical, and for a moment I thought he'd ask me why I hadn't still been fighting when he'd wandered into the picture, but thankfully, he didn't.

'It is!' I was still indignant, in any case, although my former curiosity had returned, 'Actually, I was quite surprised myself when you took care of that guy so swiftly. I thought, being of your social status, you definitely wouldn't be able to do something like that. What style of martial art did you use?'

If he was surprised by my interest in the topic (although I was exaggerating some, just to try and lighten the atmosphere), or annoyed that I'd thought he wouldn't know anything about close-combat simply due to his wealthy background, he didn't show it.

'Hakuda. It's an old form of unarmed combat that was developed long ago by allies of the Hitsugaya family, and taught to those of the powerful clans of that time. In the past, all descendants of my family leaned hakuda, but nowadays, only those who want to continue training do so. It's not enforced anymore,'

'You wanted to learn?' sitting straighter, I tilted my head, considering the new information.

'Yes,' his reply was somewhat terse, but I ignored that without a second thought, having become accustomed to his usual behaviour over the weeks.

We'd probably have to head back in the next hour or so, because the afternoon _was _slipping away. However, since there was time now, I _really_ wanted to show him that I wasn't all talk, even though I knew that all I could do was the very basics. Getting to my feet, I raised my fists, a grin appearing on my face, 'Let's spar,'

* * *

Tōshirō was extremely taken aback when his housekeeper/fellow student/gardener/cook suddenly jumped up and said she wanted to engage in unarmed combat against him all of a sudden, while maintaining a completely serious expression and earnest tone of voice. He should've realised that she'd eventually have said that, because she'd clearly been highly interested in that conversation, as well as piqued about how he'd dismissed her self-defence skills. But he couldn't fight her anywhere near seriously, not just because she was a girl, but because he'd get into big trouble if he ended up hurting her. If _that_ got back to the family … well, he'd be in trouble, to say the least.

Shion, anticipating his unwillingness, took a risk and pivoted on the spot, striking out in a spin kick and aiming directly for his head. She wasn't too surprised when he dodged without any difficulty, hands wrapping around her ankle and throwing her over the bench in the same movement. She flipped in the air, landing crouched a short distance away, her grin widening fractionally. Jumping forwards, she delivered a flurry of untidy punches and jabs, all of which were blocked or evaded with ease.

Tōshirō figured that since she was the type of person to keep persisting until you either gave in or came to a compromise that leaned her way, he should just let her do her best right now. Instead of making obvious or direct counterattacks, he simply focused on redirecting each of her blows. That way, she was far less likely to get hurt and, in the unlikely event that he miscalculated, so was he.

As she moved, Shion was thinking that not only was his style solid in its forms, it was also very powerful. The smallest movements he made in counterattack could send her skidding backwards seemingly without effort. On that same topic, Tōshirō, on the other hand, was thinking that whoever had taught her how to fight clearly hadn't been keen on messing around. Her method of fighting didn't follow a set structure – or not one that he could see – but, although the defensive side was comparatively weak, there wasn't much unnecessary movement. Every time she attacked, she aimed for the body's weak spots or pressure points, her movements surprisingly fast.

However, this couldn't go on forever so he decided to put a forceful finish to things. Grabbing her wrist as she punched, he twisted her body around so that she dropped to her knees, arm bent behind her back. Unlike him, her breathing had quickened through the course of the fight, but she didn't voice any complaint about that, or about having her arm jerked around.

Releasing her, he brushed himself off, 'I'll give Kenichirō a call and he can come pick us up,'

Getting to her feet, she grinned wryly at him, 'I concede. You're actually pretty good, senpai,'

Despite the fact that she hadn't expected anything, it still irked her when he just wandered off again without saying anything like 'sorry for insulting you before' or 'you're not actually a complete failure either'. She certainly didn't live just to have people compliment her, but still, this was one of those situations where she thought _any_ sort of response, even a negative one, would've have been far better than the nothing she received. Even if the way she fought was all about trying to distract or temporarily disable your opponent before they could aptly counterattack, based on the idea that you'd be the weaker by far one in the fight, and with the aim of getting an opportunity to run away, it was still something. And even if it had been so obvious that he could've finished the fight straight after it began, probably only with a single punch, it still proved that she wasn't utterly defenceless. Right?!

Grumbling quietly, and thinking that maybe Hitsugaya was actually the A-class jerk at heart, and his cold but decent exterior was the less dominant, conjured personality, Shion trailed slowly after his retreating figure, her footsteps dragging slightly.

* * *

Sorry for the gap between updates. Hope you enjoyed the chapter~


	5. Chapter 05: Trust You

_Chapter 5: Trust You_

It's almost the last couple of days in the first month back at school and I can hardly believe how quickly the time seemed to pass. Aside from studying as best I can at school and doing my homework properly, I've been busy the whole time with work. Whether it's doing laundry, experimenting in the kitchen, sweeping floors, dusting shelves, pruning the hedges outside … my hatred for housekeeping hadn't lessened one bit, but I'm still working as hard as I possibly can in order to keep the place looking tidy and remain a good employee. Living in that house has gotten a little easier too. Senpai still doesn't speak to me very much and I am glad for Kenichirō's presence whenever he's there, but the atmosphere doesn't seem quite so chilling anymore. Either that or I've just gotten used to feeling like my life is constantly in danger – of being frozen solid, naturally.

Business at Himawari has also been good, meaning I haven't had to go back to that expensive place again since the whole 'meeting Kichida Isao and being seen in a maid uniform' incident. And my work at the convenience store in town has also been going well, without any unforeseen mishaps. The pay from all of my jobs has meant that I haven't had to worry about _anything_ really.

Things are peaceful, my mind isn't troubled, and most of my worries have been laid to rest.

Life's really good at the moment.

And that generally means something overwhelming is about to happen which will shake everything up again.

Right?

* * *

'School again the day after tomorrow,' I mumbled to Kenichirō as I grabbed things from the cupboard, leaning too far to one side and almost dropping everything, 'Got an assignment to hand in this week,'

'Busy as usual then,' sitting at the dining table and peeling apples, the bespectacled man was ever patient as he listened to my half-conscious rambling, 'Don't tire yourself out too much, Takahashi,'

'I won't,' peeling back the lid on the ramen cup, I looked around for the electric kettle, having put it down somewhere and forgotten about it. It wasn't too early in the morning, probably around seven thirty, but for some reason my head had gotten stuck halfway between reality and my dreams.

_Ding-dong_

At the sound of the doorbell, we both looked at each other, surprised. I didn't even have to ask whether or not he or senpai had been expecting a guest, because his expression clearly said neither of them had. Wiping my hands on the dishcloth, I temporarily abandoned my cup ramen and hurried to the front door, hoping my hair hadn't fallen out of its tie too much although I knew it had a habit of doing so. I wasn't wearing my apron yet, but I still hoped I'd look presentable enough to welcome whoever it was into the house. In any case, I certainly didn't want to tarnish Hitsugaya's reputation by appearing untidy. This was the very first guest I was to provide hospitality for too.

Opening the door, I was about to say a standard greeting, my photograph-smile fixed firmly in place when I was abruptly glomped. Gasping, I stumbled back into the house, hearing the door slam behind me, as I struggled to remain standing beneath the weight of whoever had just hugged me so abruptly.

'Oh? You're not Tōshirō? Or Kenichirō?' pushing me to stand an arm's length away, hands on my shoulders, the unexpected guest frowned petulantly at me, 'My bad, I'm sorry- Oh! Wait …' _oh no, here it comes_, 'You're _that_ girl! Tōshirō's friend! Ah, what was it … oh yes! Takahashi!' he positively beamed, his slate blue eyes sparkling, 'How nice it is to see you again ~ ,'

'Kichida Isao …' I wasn't sure whether to feel happy or alarmed that it was _this person_ who'd arrived on the doorstep. Still, I had to be polite, so I bowed in welcoming, 'Ah, I mean, Kichida-san,'

'Call me Isao, all that _–san_ business makes my head hurt,' breezing past me, the blonde haired man wandered through the house to the kitchen, 'Kenichirō! I thought you might be in here! It's good to see you again as well! How have you been lately? Is it still terribly difficult working for my dear cousin? I know firsthand how difficult he can be. Actually … where is he? Tōshirō?'

'Ah, I'm very well thank you. And Hitsugaya-sama is upstairs in the library,' Kenichirō's expression said that, like me, he wasn't too sure how to deal with this man's cheery and flamboyant personality.

'Rea~lly?' grabbing my wrist, Isao dragged me after him as he ran over to the stairs, 'You know, before when we met that time you _did_ say you were Tōshirō's friend from school, but I never would've thought he'd actually invite you over! He's not that sort of person at all. I mean, in all the years I've known him, and I've known him for a lot of years, he's never done anything like this …' his assessed me closely, curiosity and slight caution reflected in his eyes.

He was obviously trying to figure me out.

I didn't like it.

Laughed lightly, I tried to brush off his interest because I could still remember that glare Hitsugaya had sent my way when I'd almost said I was his housekeeper, 'He isn't? I can imagine … you know what I mean,'

At my near incomprehensible answer, he blinked and looked understandably puzzled but didn't question me further, much to my relief. Instead, he grasped my arm again, heading up the stairs on light feet and turning to the right immediately in a way that made me sure this definitely wasn't his first time in this house. Not pausing for a moment, he charged onwards unwaveringly, opening the library door and bursting into the room with a flourish. All the while he was still pulling me behind him … and then he shouted out enthusiastically at the top of his voice, nearly scaring me to death.

'SHIRO-chan!'

'DON'T CALL ME SHIRO-CHAN,'

A long, heavy silence followed … until I remembered myself, 'Oh, senpai. You have a guest,'

'Tch. I can see that, you fool,' he glared at me witheringly before turning his attention to his cousin, his frosty look making the room seem infinitely colder, 'What are you doing here, Isao?'

As the blonde practically skipped over, I couldn't help but think that Hitsugaya's loud outburst before had been a conditioned reflex. He hadn't known that Isao had turned up out of the blue, and his reaction had been triggered instantly by his cousin's loud outburst of … 'Shiro-chan'.

Tilting me head to one side as I considered what I now believed to be the trigger to this unexpected response, I murmured 'Shiro-chan?' aloud without fully realising it. Then I flinched unconsciously when I felt a ferocious aura spring up a short distance in front of me. Hesitating due to my apprehension, I looked over slowly, meeting Hitsugaya's glacial stare with my own wavering gaze.

'Don't. Call. Me. Shiro. Chan,' his eyes glinted dangerously and I bit my cheek to stop myself from yelping and taking a step back. It would've have been better if he'd shouted violently again. The controlled, tight deliverance of each word was just _that_ much more fearsome.

Surprisingly enough, it was Isao who saved me when he took that moment to glomp Hitsugaya. I stared on in shock, partially because I'd thought it impossible that someone could be so terrible at reading the atmosphere, but mainly because of the simple fact that I couldn't believe he would _dare_ do such a thing.

Really, to _senpai_ of all people.

'Get off of me!' shoving hard on his cousin's body, Hitsugaya untangled himself disdainfully, 'I do believe I asked before, but in any case; explain yourself, Isao. You don't just appear like this for no reason,' he glanced at me from the corner of his eye, slightly impatient, 'Ya, Takahashi, you can go now. Tell Kenichirō we'll be down later,'

'Of course,' bowing hastily, I made my retreat, closing the door behind me. Leaning against the painted wooden surface, I let out a long sigh, wondering whether I'd ever find out the reason for Isao's visit. I was about to head back downstairs, when the door opened abruptly and I fell backwards into someone's arms.

'Are you eavesdropping?' Isao's tone was teasing, and he put me back on my feet, surprisingly robust, 'Well, no matter. I just wanted to say that I'll be staying for a few days,' he smiled at me mischievously, 'So could you please prepare a room for me … _housekeeper_ ~,'

He winked and then stepped back, closing the door again. I stared blankly at the place he'd just been, wondering why the hell I'd had to be so careful _not_ to say I was working at senpai's house it _he_ could say it so easily when I wasn't even in the room. One level away from being furious, I stormed down the stairs and marched back to the kitchen, deciding to drown my sorrow in my ramen.

* * *

Rolling over as sunlight snuck round the edge of the curtains and played across her eyelids, Shion shifted in her bed, vaguely wondering why she felt so unperturbed. Normally she was still ever so slightly tense even while sleeping, solely because of the fact that she was subconsciously aware of Hitsugaya's very existence in the room on the other side of the hall. But today … the feeling of warm security that enveloped her was almost painfully nostalgic. She was comforted so much by the simple fact that she could feel another's presence so close and hear steady breathing which wasn't her own …

**What**?

'_Eeek_! Uwaa! What the _**hell**_?!'

_Bam. Wham. Smash._

'Ouch! Shion-chan! Stop! Wait- Argh!'

Kneeling on her bed, tangled in the sheets, Shion finally stilled. The arm raised above her head, ready to smack down again, was shaking from the effort of stopping her instinctive reaction, and she was breathing rapidly. Her hair was tousled, covering her eyes almost completely, but from between strands of black, she could see Isao crouching beside the bed with his arms shielding his head.

'Damn it! What the hell are you doing in my freaking room?' she didn't even care that her language had slipped far below the standard she normally thought appropriate for an employee of the Hitsugaya family, 'Ya! Explain!'

Isao looked up carefully, expecting to be hit again, and his tone was defensive, 'I wasn't sleeping on your bed!'

'I bloody well hope not! And this is a _very small_ double bed, so you shouldn't have been able to fit in anyway without me noticing,'

Her voice was still raised well above her normal level, and she purposefully omitted the part about how she hadn't noticed his presence there anyway, whether he'd been in the bed or not. Or, more accurately, she had but she hadn't found it a bad thing, as per say.

Isao shuffled closer to the bed, still on his knees, and rested his elbows on the edge before crossing his arms and laying his head down on them. Then he looked up at her, 'This is how I was, honest,'

'How old are you anyway?' she looked down at him, making an effort to control her voice.

'Twenty-six,' he seemed confused but answered her all the same.

She smirked, but it was more a wound up expression as opposed to a mocking one, and gave a short burst of incredulous laughter.

'So you're ten years older than me but still feel that it's okay to rest your head on my bed and sleep _facing me_? I'm _not _your freaking mother- Don't do stuff that makes you seem like a pervert, idiot! Tch,' she looked away, her contemptuous expression merely a façade, before snapping her head back around to glare at him again, 'Why did you come in the first place?' she groaned tiredly, 'And why didn't I lock my door?'

Seeming to return more to his usual personality, Isao sat up straight, 'That spare room is full of boxes and other stuff, there's barely enough room for my futon. I just thought I'd come keep you company,'

'Did you indeed,' energy deflating, she shook her head, and decided that although he had a playful and somewhat irresponsible personality, he hadn't _really _done anything wrong. Then she pointed to the door behind her, 'Alright, out,' he didn't move and her tone took on an irritated edge, 'Hurry up, go!'

Eventually he got to his feet and scampered off out the door like an obedient puppy or something. Sighing, Shion pushed her hair back out of her eyes and stretched, as if that would make what had just happened a little less vivid in her mind. She exited the bed and wandered over to the ensuite bathroom, deciding to brush her hair so that it wasn't as wild, get changed, and then head downstairs to finish off that situation with Isao. Leaving things like that was just impossible.

As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she wondered, and not for the first time, how in the world her life had panned out like this. Shaking her head, she decided, again not for the first time, that if she started trying to figure it all out with cold hard logic alone, she would probably never come to a conclusion and also get a bad headache trying.

* * *

Sitting at the dining table, opposite from Isao and adjacent to Hitsugaya, I fixed my gaze resolutely on the wall, smoothing my expression as best as possible. I'd just finished explaining the reason for the morning's session of loud shouting, with an ever cheerful Isao's help, and now we were both waiting expectantly for some sort of comment from my senpai, who had listened the whole time without making a sound.

'Excuse his behaviour, if possible,' Hitsugaya sighed, surprisingly calm about the whole matter, 'Isao's generally disregards all conventions of personal space and he's a … big fan of skinship,'

_Hence the glomping_, was what I felt had remained unsaid at the end of that sentence. However, now that I knew for certain that this was just normal behaviour from the man, I _was_ relieved – even though I hadn't been too concerned in the first place. Although that might be stupid …

'Tōshirō's bed is way bigger, but he kicks me out if I try to sleep with him,' Isao was practically whining and he flopped onto the table lifelessly, 'He's really mean, Shion-chan. His kicks hurt,'

I sweatdropped, glanced at Hitsugaya and then looked away immediately when I saw his murderous expression. Since Isao had said he'd be staying for a few days, I was wondering just how long my boss would be able to cope with his presence before he snapped and threw him out … or worse. I also didn't know why the blonde had come in the first place, or what he planned to do while he was here. Hopefully nothing that would mean I'd have a lot more than my normal amount of cleaning to do.

'Shion-chan,' the constant name-calling was slowly getting on my nerves, 'Let's go. Tōshirō says he's too busy to entertain me, so I'll teach you ikebana. I brought everything along with me,'

'What?' before I could protest further, I was dragged off again just like yesterday, 'Ikebana?!'

'Of course,' leading me all the way to the spare room which he was supposed to be sleeping in, Isao smiled again, 'Ikebana is something I was taught when I was little, so I thought I'd teach you right now,'

'That's not really what I meant,' as we entered the room, I frowned at the stack of boxes near the door. They weren't there when I'd cleaned out the room yesterday, and they were a different type of box to the ones of Hitsugaya's which had already been in the room. I paused, thinking back to the morning's events, 'Wait … when you complained about boxes filling your room, you weren't talking about your own, were you?' a vein popped above my eye, 'I was certain that I'd pushed everything of senpai's to the edges of the room so that you'd have enough room to lay the futon. I even put the table in a nice spot,'

Maybe I was more irritated than the situation warranted (and I was making a big fuss of pointing out my efforts – which was not something I normally allowed myself to do) but still, it was things like this which always managed to get on my nerves.

'Something like that, and thanks for taking the time to make this room decent. I always appreciate it when someone expends some effort on my behalf,' breezing along as carefree as ever, he began unpacking the boxes, revealing all sorts of things I hadn't noticed he'd even brought to the house, 'Oh, I brought things for the tea ceremony too, maybe we should do that first …' he tutted, shifting his attention immediately to a different box and pulling out tea bowls, scoops, whisks and chakins, 'Kimono,'

As I stared at the proffered garment, my mind took a moment to return to reality, 'Hang on a second,' I held up my hands as if to physically pause his unceasing movement, 'Why are you doing all this with me?' I frowned, distracted, 'And why did you bring a female kimono if you didn't know I lived here until yesterday? No, wait-,' I shook my head in an attempt to sort out my thoughts, and returned to the original topic, 'You know what I do here now; that I'm not exactly a friend like I told you that time in the café. I just stay here in this house, do the cleaning, keep the garden looking tidy, and occasionally cook a meal-,'

He glanced up at me, his eyes alight with mischief, and chuckled, 'You sound like a wife,'

'Wha-!' automatically, I smacked down on his head hard, cheeks colouring, 'Not at all!'

'Do you call him _honey_-,'

_Whack!_

'Argh! You're really into the whole impulse _violent _physical reactions, aren't you?! You're hitting a guest, you know? Don't forget that I'm from a wealthy family. Hey- Cousin-in-law!'

_Bam!_

'Okay, okay, okay! I'll stop! Shion-chan. I'll be quiet! I won't tease you anymore,' whimpering, he'd assumed his defensive position again, arms crossed above his head to stop my hand from reaching his head.

Putting my hands on my hips, I glared down at him, hiding my embarrassment behind my exasperation, 'You'd _better_ stop or else I _will_ hit you again. Rich or not, you're insufferable,'

Or maybe it was because he'd grown up as part of a rich family that he was so hard to deal with. But, in any case, I _still_ didn't get why he was so intent on doing all of these things with me.

'You didn't answer my question, by the way,'

He looked surprised, but it wasn't long before he was smiling again, 'Why? Maybe because I've got nothing else to do, or maybe it's because I like you. I think you're an interesting person, Shion-chan, so now that I know you're living here, obviously I want to spend time with you. Tōshirō is never very pliant when I ask him to do activities like this with me, but I was hoping you'd be a bit different,'

'I'm warning you, I'm not good with these things at all,' relaxing a bit, I looked apprehensively at the materials he'd brought, knowing that the equipment for tea ceremonies was supposed to be handled with utmost care, 'I'm more likely to break something than anything else. And I've never worn a kimono before,'

'Rea~lly?' if it was possible, his eyes seemed to be glowing more brightly than ever, 'Don't worry, I can help you with it. I know how to do both men and women's kimono. After all, I used to-,'

He fell silent abruptly, eyes clouding over and expression going blank for a moment. I was about to ask if he was okay, when he seemed to snap out of it, grin reappearing and never-ending energy returning.

Before I could speak a single word, on that matter or about anything else, he was already ordering me around, clearly intent on getting me into that kimono even if it took him all day.

In the end I just gave up resisting because his motivation for involving me in these activities, to me, seemed completely honest. Certainly he seemed like a flirt when I met him in the café, not because he'd done anything then, exactly, but simply because of the aura he gave off. However, now I was seeing a different side of him, one that, like Hitsugaya had said, had a fondness for platonic skinship and seemed almost childishly innocent … despite the way he worded some of his teasing.

'Shion-chan,' he looked at me expectantly, having just finished dressing me up like a doll, 'Try walking a bit would you?'

Hearing the note of laughter in his voice, I knew he was waiting for me to make a fool of myself somehow. Funnily enough, though, I didn't really care if I did or didn't. With Isao, it felt like all that was required of me was full and sincere attention in regards to whatever he'd planned for us to do. There was none of the tension I felt when tending to the house and wondering whether it would be up to standard, when I trimmed one of the bushes out the back of the house and thought the shape was uneven, or when I put one of my unusual meals on the table and wondered if we'd all get sick from eating it. It was more like he genuinely wanted to have fun, and include someone along with him so that they'd be able to enjoy themselves as well.

That was a revelation which made him seem less maddening.

But only a tiny, little bit.

'I can breathe properly, let alone walk,' tentatively, I took a step forward, my feet feeling odd in the tabi and zori. As predicted, I wobbled almost immediately and reeled to the right, losing my balance completely. Isao caught me, the feeling dimly familiar, and put me back on my feet.

'Small steps and patience is what'll help you here,' he himself was a surprisingly tolerant person, something I wouldn't have guessed from our previous brief meeting or his erratic behaviour yesterday, 'But anyhow, since you'll be sitting down now,' he pressed on my shoulders, practically forcing me to kneel, 'Everything will be fine. Okay, so do you know what this is called?'

As he explained what each piece of equipment used in the tea ceremony was for, I listened as attentively as possible, although sometimes my mind wandered. His expressions and gestures were as animated as ever, his concentration solely directed at the materials before him. He kept talking and demonstrating different things, getting me to try every so often, until my legs had gone completely numb and then he finally realised that quite a lot of time had passed and a break was in order.

Carefully avoiding all of the tea things, which had rebelled against me no matter how hard I tried, Isao helped me up onto one of the chairs positioned by the table across the room. He sat down on the other one and smiled at me, producing cans of iced tea from who knows where. As he slid one can across to me, he began talking yet again, 'So, Shion-chan, you started living and working here after Kenichirō almost ran you over? That's quite the story, isn't it … My, my, but aren't things the wrong way around? If Tōshirō's car nearly hit you, then shouldn't he have been the one in your debt? So why are you so determined to keep working for him?'

'Oh, he's doing me a favour letting me stay here and work. I get paid well and I need that money,' vaguely, I realised it sounded like I was only using Hitsugaya for his money but _really,_ there were easier ways to manipulate people into giving you their wealth than actually doing hard work, 'I mean- Ah,' I fumbled for the correct expression, surprising myself by hoping that he wouldn't suddenly withdraw from me due to my bad choice of words, 'I hope you don't misunderstand me!'

_Don't start disliking me … please._

'Don't worry. From what I can gather just being around you, you're not here with malicious or scheming intent. If you were, Kenichirō would already have picked it up anyway. He's sharp like that, you know,' he chuckled lightly, and then, as he often seemed to do, he swung the conversation one-hundred and eighty degrees without a moment's pause, 'So, Shion-chan, what's the first thing you look for in other people, in terms of physical appearance? The most important feature?'

His tone was distant, a sentimental expression coming across his face like clouds across the sun. He was looking right at me, but it felt as if he wasn't seeing me at all.

I thought about his question, only half-serious, and replied with the first thing that came into my head, 'Eyes,'

Still unseeing, he gazed at me pensively, clearly having taken my answer as the undoubtable truth, which made me feel a little guilty, 'That's interesting to hear,' that faraway look on his face had yet to fade away, 'Very …'

For some reason, I didn't want to say anything right then, so I kept my mouth shut, just watching silently until he blinked and came out of his reverie, or whatever it was. Once again, he continued as if nothing had happened, tidying away the tea things in a flash and beginning a long speech on ikebana. Oddly enough, he didn't seem very worried that I might have noticed that something was wrong with him a few moments before, but he also didn't make it obvious and try to subtly push me into asking about it.

It was definitely something which confused me, but I wasn't going to overstep my boundaries in any fashion and pry. I wasn't even going to dwell on the matter any longer. Instead, I returned my full attention to the task at hand, trying my best to imitate what he was doing but with little success once again.

'Shion-chan,' Isao's tone was somewhat dry and he raised his eyebrows, 'This arrangement of yours is very … minimalistic,' he gestured at the product of my hard work, 'And it has an extremely uncanny resemblance to a twig … and a leaf,'

Smiling sheepishly, I released the fine pair of scissors and rubbed my hands together restively, 'Er, I think I may have been a little,' I looked dubiously at the bare stick again, 'Severe,'

'I do too, somehow,'

After a pause, in which we both continued to stare at my disastrous attempt at flower arrangement, we burst out laughing, unable to remain serious when I'd so obviously failed. As we packed away everything else, we talked light-heartedly, the simple conversation taking me back to past times.

I thought I could almost understand why even Hitsugaya put up with Isao. Yes, he was a tease and took great pleasure in embarrassing people, but he hadn't done anything that made me doubt that at heart, he was someone full of goodwill. I hoped I wasn't wrong, because even after this short amount of time, I had come to tolerate and even appreciate his presence … so if he turned out to be a lying bastard, then I'd probably be more hurt than I'd like to admit.

Was I losing my reason, getting attached to these people?

* * *

'So, you're trying to say you came here with no ulterior motives?' Tōshirō gazed hard at Isao, his expression unreadable but his tone unyielding, 'And that you had no idea Takahashi was living here?' sitting straighter in his chair, he continued coolly, 'Do you really think I'd believe you just like that?'

Isao tried for a small smile but he couldn't manage it against the leaden atmosphere.

'I'm here because I wanted to see you, nothing else. No, I didn't know Shion-chan was staying and working at your house. And _yes_, you _should_ believe me! … What do _you_ think I'm here for then?'

Tōshirō looked aside for a moment, stifling silence descending upon the room, and then he glanced back from the corner of his eye, the teal colour glowing dangerously, 'To observe,'

'Wha-?'

Resting his chin on his hands, the snowy haired teenager ignored his half-cousin openly, continuing only after a loaded pause, 'You're the only one who can hang around me like this, so aren't you just the perfect candidate? You stay in this house for a few days, study everything to see what's changed and what hasn't, and then you go back and report to the main house. I'm sure they'll have a field day when they hear about Takahashi,'

'Nothing of the sort,' instead of getting cross, Isao's voice was still perfectly charming, which only served to make Tōshirō more suspicious of him, 'You're quite mistaken,'

Tōshirō almost rolled his eyes, 'I see, so we're lying now are we,' nodding his head agreeably, he went on in a pleasant monotone, words laden with so much cynicism that they hurt to listen to, 'Did you know, I'm just a figment of your imagination. Shocking, isn't it. Makes you seem like quite the masochist. And Takahashi's actually a boy cross-dressing. Who would've known? The deception is just endless,'

'Oh, excuse me, I think I might die from hysterics,' Isao frowned, voice deadpan, unable to believe what he was hearing, 'I never thought you had such an imaginative sense of humour, cousin,'

'Not at all,' Tōshirō replied instantly, 'I didn't even mention the part where Kenichirō was originally a cat,'

Isao struggled to remain unaffected by his relative's behaviour, but his usual bright look was being replaced by a frustrated glare, 'Look, why would I be here to spy on you? Does it seem to you like I have that sort of personality?' no response, 'Fine, you obviously aren't going to trust me, no matter what I say,'

'Trust you?' there was a glint in Tōshirō's eyes and he twisted in his chair to face the blonde man, 'Think about it, Isao. Which part of our circumstances invites any sort of _trust_? I can put up with you hanging around, yes, but there's absolutely no reason for me to _trust_ you,'

Isao stared silently at his cousin for a long moment before standing and walking to the doorway.

'I can tell that there's nothing I can say right now to change your opinion, but I _don't_ mean you any harm, Tōshirō. You have to believe me just that much,'

_Patan_

As the door closed behind Isao, Tōshirō sighed deeply, wondering just why he'd acted so uncharacteristically back there. To be honest, he wasn't certain that the blonde _was_ there to keep an eye on him, but he also didn't have any evidence on the contrary. When Isao said he didn't _mean_ any harm, that was all well and good, but his actions could still end up causing Tōshirō trouble in the future, despite whatever good intentions he might have had. The teenager knew he was being harsh on his cousin, but he had to be cautious at all times no matter who he was dealing with. Coming to trust people was something he admitted he was undeniably terrible at. But still …

_Could _he trust Isao? Or not?

Sighing again, Tōshirō went back to reading the documents Kenichirō had given him, hoping that they would provide adequate distraction for his troubled mind.

* * *

Not much to say~ Thanks again for reading~


	6. Chapter 06: Don't Cry

_Chapter 6: Don't Cry_

Shion chuckled to herself as she sat down with some of the girls from her homeroom class. She couldn't help it, even if she looked crazy, because whenever she thought about that morning, the laughter just glomped her in much the same way Isao had a habit of doing. The blonde was, naturally, the source of her amusement, but strangely enough, it was Hitsugaya's reactions which just completed the picture perfectly. Her white haired senpai would probably never admit it, even if tortured, but compared to most people, he seemed to get along with Isao quite well.

'_What are you doing?'_ _each word was pronounced with perfect clarity, the edge to Hitsugaya's tone razor sharp, 'Kichida Isao!'_

'_I can't sleep in your bed, I can't sleep in Shion-chan's room, I don't _want_ to sleep on the futon in that little room you exiled me to … so I'm sleeping right here, if you couldn't tell. And I don't care if you have a problem with it, because I'm _not_ moving,' Isao's tone was childishly petulant, and he refused to make eye contact with the irritated teenager, looking away haughtily with his nose in the air._

'_Tch, as if you can sleep there. And it's morning anyway so get up!' Tōshirō was getting steadily more irked by every syllable that passed from the blonde's lips, 'You're becoming more absurd every day,'_

_Standing as far back as possible, simply because she didn't want her boss to see her laughing quietly in the corner, Shion bit her lip hard. Seeing Isao reclining on the dining table like a model, dressed in the most flamboyant attire she'd ever seen while waging a verbal war with Hitsugaya was, for some unknown reason, one of the funniest things she'd seen in years (no one had ever said her sense of humour was completely normal). The question of where he'd materialised the clothes from didn't even cross her mind. And it certainly didn't help to diminish her amusement that Isao was a master of pulling faces when he made his retorts, and the fact that he could make normal sentences sound so … _wrong_, was just priceless._

_Hitsugaya seemed to be having trouble dealing with the situation, because no matter what order he gave or threat he made, he was completely ignored. Isao seemed to be enjoying the whole thing immensely, laughing gleefully every so often when his cousin's patience almost snapped and the teenager made a grab for an arm or leg. However, surprisingly enough, Isao was not about to be moved from that table, physically or otherwise. No matter how hard Tōshirō pulled at his arms or legs, he managed to remain stuck solid as if he'd been super-glued there._

_Which, of course, made Shion choke on her suppressed laughter even more. Truthfully, she would have let that situation remain the way it was for as long as possible, just for the sake of free entertainment, however, both she and Hitsugaya had to get to school. And, if she wasn't quite mistaken, unless Isao was _removed _from the table before they left, her senpai would be brooding about it the whole day. And if he got into trouble for something she could've indirectly prevented, she'd never be able to forgive herself._

_Marching over to the site of the commotion, Shion stamped her foot down loudly, pleased when they both stopped their bickering to stare at her. When she spoke, her tone was completely unsympathetic, 'Isao, get off the table, _now_,' her head whipped around, 'Senpai, I think Kenichirō just arrived so you'd better get the things you need for school or else you'll be late,'_

_Neither of them moved; they just stared at her, transparently taken aback at her sudden boldness. Her eyes flashed dangerously, boring into one pale-haired head and then flicking to the other, clearly showing them how much she _wasn't_ going to compromise._

'_NOW!'_

Goodness, being listened to and having her words heeded so promptly truly gave her such delight. When she thought about it again, she positively sparkled, the feeling reminiscent of sunshine and daisies. No doubt Hitsugaya would find a way to make things difficult for her in the near future, in revenge for being ordered about like that. But, stupidly or not, she didn't really care. Thinking recklessly like that would no doubt be bound to bring even more trouble knocking on her door, however thinking in the now, she was still on a high.

'Shion?'

She jolted out of her thoughts, sitting bolt upright, her attention snapping back to the present, 'What? Yes?!'

'Calm down,' the girl, Mayumi, laughed lightly and shook her head in vexation, 'You really do know how to zone out, Shion. I don't know how you do it,' turning back to the other teenagers sitting in the circle, she winked, 'We were just talking and then I realised you weren't with us, so I couldn't just continue without 'waking you up', so to speak,'

'Oh, right,' smiling sheepishly, Shion rubbed the back of her head, 'What were you talking about?'

Since Sho was away at another of his 'family things' and Hiro had been out of sorts, saying shortly that he was going to study at the library before walking off, Shion had decided to fall in with some of the girls from her class. They weren't close friends like Sho and Hiro, but she liked to think they were still more than acquaintances.

'We were discussing who,' Mayumi smiled mischievously, the look somehow reminiscent of Isao's favourite expression, and waved her hands, gesturing for us to huddle closer in our circle, 'We _like_,'

Shion almost sweatdropped at how serious all six of her classmates seemed as they talked amongst themselves in a conspiratorial manner. Of all the conversation topics out there, she most certainly hadn't expected that they'd be talking about something which, to her, seemed quite trivial. Certainly she wasn't trying to put myself on a superior level to them, but with her head full of work, financial issues, and other such personal worries … she really didn't have a chance to stop, sit down and take a moment to consider who she might like in a romantic sense. _Really._

'You're normally always with Sato and Nakamura, right?' laughing again, Mayumi glanced at her, along with the others, 'What are they really like?'

An incredibly awkward feeling settled on Shion's shoulders at her words. She didn't really get how she could talk about her closest friends in such a fashion without feeling infinitely uncomfortable, which she already did … so in the end she decided to answer in the briefest and most impersonal way possible, hoping it would be enough to satisfy their curiosity.

'Ah, they've got really different personalities, but they're both nice guys. Hiro is the serious one and Sho likes to fool around,' she barely refrained from cringing.

'I see~ We'll take your word for it; after all, you would know, Shion,'

She was absurdly relieved when they started talking about some of the senior students, leaving that problematic topic behind them. Maybe Mayumi had picked up on her discomfort and redirected the flow of the conversation elsewhere. But either way, the chatter slowly turned into waves of noise that washed right over her head, exactly like the ocean, leaving her to go back to her musings. Isao was leaving sometime that day, which would probably mean Hitsugaya would become a lot less tense. The blonde's mere presence really had an astounding effect on the dynamics of the house and its original occupant. He made everything far more animated, albeit with a large side dish of chaos.

'Um … Takahashi,'

Looking up again, Shion stared at the person who'd just called her name. The girl's name was Mei, if she remembered correctly. From what Shion had gathered, Mei seemed to have a shy sort of personality, the opposite of Mayumi, but she was always included in their group. That was one of the reasons she thought Mayumi was a decent person; she made an effort to stop people from feeling left out.

'Yes?'

Mei looked up at her briefly before dropping her gaze again, obviously trying to hide behind her fringe, although the auburn strands didn't seem to help her much, 'Who do you like?'

Since she was a timid person, and she'd taken the effort to ask what they'd all been asking each other before, Shion thought the girl deserved some sort of answer. But, quite frankly, her mind came up with nothing but a complete blank; she didn't even have any false replies or excuses to give.

Casting around for something to say, and not wanting to dampen everyone's enthusiasm, she began stuttering, 'Erm, I-,'

Mayumi spoke suddenly as if she'd just had a light bulb moment, 'How about Hitsugaya-senpai?'

Shion flinched.

'HELL NO! YOU HAVE _GOT _TO BE KIDDING ME!'

All of the girls jumped in surprise, one dropping her water bottle. They stared at Shion in mute shock, wondering just what had caused her to have such an intense reaction, and how she dared use such language so loudly while in the school grounds when there were teachers close by. Shion blinked, recalling her surroundings, and immediately became flustered, green eyes clearly displaying her embarrassment.

'Ah, no, I mean- That's not what I meant,'

_Damn it, I'm not even making sense anymore. Curse you senpai, you're not even here and you're making me make a fool of myself. And just how ridiculous does that sound?!_

'Don't worry about it,' still slightly taken aback, Mayumi tried to brush aside the situation and continue where they'd left off before Shion's loud response, turning her attention to the others in order to give the perturbed girl a moment, 'Hmm, I know a couple of you think senpai is really handsome, right?'

As they started talking about Hitsugaya, showing a surprising knowledge of his school persona (although Shion was convinced it was a fake personality), she forced herself to relax and _breathe_. In actual fact, she found their interest in her boss quite amusing, especially as this was the first time she'd listened in on such a conversation. However, as they kept talking about him in such a flattering light, she got irritated again, feeling them all to be terribly disillusioned. Vein popping above her eyebrow, she clenched her fist tightly, trying to ignore them as they chattered on about how 'Hitsugaya-senpai' was so good at this and how he looked so striking when doing that.

Finally, her patience completely snapped, a venomous aura springing up around her.

'So he's an academic genius who's also crazy good at soccer, or _whatever you were saying_,' she ground out each word from between clenched teeth, eyes burning dangerously beneath her fringe, 'But that doesn't change the fact that he's an A-CLASS, FREAKING JERK!'

Jumping to her feet, she bowed slightly, both to hide her embarrassment at losing her self-control for a second time, and to apologise for the very same thing.

'Please excuse me, I think lunch break is about to finish so I'm going to head inside,' she sounded faint.

As Shion disappeared quickly into the nearest building, Mayumi frowned in concern, 'I wonder what's wrong with her? Maybe she's not feeling well,' looking at the shocked faces of her friends, she shrugged, sighing delicately, 'Oh well, try not to dwell on it. I'm sure she has a reason,'

What she _didn't_ say was that she was just as curious about what was going on as the rest of them were bound to be. From the way Shion had worded her outburst, it was almost like she was speaking from experience. But from what Mayumi knew, her classmate had never even exchanged words with Hitsugaya at school.

_Now, that's quite the mystery, isn't it?_

* * *

I hurried back through the corridors, trying to put as much space between myself and those girls as possible while still being reasonable and staying fairly close to my next classroom. As I turned another corner, I saw Hiro walking a short way ahead of me, books tucked under his arm. Despite the fact that I was still terribly troubled by what had just happened, a smile appeared on my face at the sight of him. Quickening my pace, I called out cheerily, planning on asking him when Sho was getting back and then just talking, because I knew that would settle my mind.

'Hiro!'

He kept walking as if he hadn't heard me, although I was sure my voice had been loud enough to carry the distance between us. Frowning, I was about to dash after him and give him a lecture about being aware of your surroundings (not that I was one to talk), when I heard someone move behind me.

'Takahashi,' Mr Yamato's voice was easily identifiable, and I stopped cold, 'Do you have a moment?'

Turning around, a feeling of apprehension clenching in my chest, I met my teacher's stern gaze cautiously, trying for a small smile so that my worry didn't show on my face, 'Of course,'

'I need to have a word with you, so could you stay back after school this afternoon?'

The way he said it made it sound less like a question and more like an order. Swallowing, I nodded, not trusting my voice lest it reveal just how nervous I was. Mr Yamato just inclined his head slightly before walking past me, continuing on to wherever he'd been headed in the first place.

After that short exchange, I couldn't concentrate at all though, and my mind became more restless than ever. The rest of the day's lessons passed by in a blur, and I hardly even registered Sho's return, even when he tapped the leg of my chair in means of saying hello. The words streaming from the teacher's mouth went straight through me without my noticing, even when I vaguely heard myself answering the questions which were directed at me. I couldn't think what my homeroom teacher would want to talk to me about. No, that wasn't it. I just didn't _want_ to think about what he would say.

But both my mind and heart held no doubt that what he was going to 'discuss' with me wasn't something to look forward to.

Naturally enough, I wasn't wrong.

* * *

'You have to improve your grades, Takahashi,' Mr Yamato's tone was hard and unyielding, and behind the lenses of his glasses, his eyes held the same emotions, albeit somewhat softened, 'You're a scholarship student and you entered this school ranked around the top ten in your year. What was it exactly? Twelfth or thirteenth?' he shifted in his chair, staring at me across his desk, 'Last year your grades were high and level across your subjects. However, since the beginning of this year, the standard of your work has slipped considerably. It's only been a month and already I can see this decline,'

He paused, as if waiting for me to say something, but after a moment he ended up prompting me anyway, 'Is there a particular reason why you think your marks are falling? Are your outside circumstances affecting your schoolwork?'

I thought about Sho and Hiro, who had told me they'd wait outside until Mr Yamato was finished with me, and then I thought about the cloudy sky, which seemed to be mirroring my emotions. Then my mind's focus shifted to Hitsugaya and the work I did at his house. A slight frown tugging at my lips, I bowed slightly, speaking in a subdued voice in order to avoid sounding defiant.

'No, there's no specific reason,' my head was still lowered, 'In the future I'll be sure to work harder,'

'I hope so, Takahashi. It would be a shame if your scholarship was terminated. Focus on your studies and I'm sure we'll see an improvement soon,'

Since his tone was decisive, I figured that he had said what he'd wanted to say and that I was now free to go. Bowing again, I exited the classroom, exhaling in a mixture of relief and worry. My footsteps were heavy as I trudged towards the door, hoping that being with my friends would raise my spirits slightly. If I guessed correctly, they'd be sitting on one of the benches that were spaced against the walls of the nearest courtyard. Hiro would probably be reading a book and Sho, knowing him, would probably be trying to ruin his friend's concentration. From the courtyard we'd walk to the main doors, down the steps and along the drive all the way to the road. We'd talk and laugh … maybe I'd even have a petty argument with Sho like I usually did. It was surprisingly late in the afternoon for a school day, but with class meetings and then Mr Yamato's talk with me, I wasn't so surprised that the time had slipped by to four o' clock. Most of the teachers had left already and there were probably only a handful of people still scattered around the school's vast buildings, none of them close enough to tell me friends off for waiting there for me. Stepping over the threshold, I was about to call out to them and tell them I was done, when I stopped short, going completely still, my smile vanishing.

'Damn it! What the hell- You didn't think to say anything?'

That was Hiro's voice. I'd never heard him raise it before, just like I'd never heard him swear. But he was shouting right now, his tone full of anger and, although it was faint, hurt.

'Why would I?'

Sho's retort was delivered harshly, none of his usual cheerful optimism present at all. He glared across the metre that separated them both, his hazel eyes antagonistic.

'Oh, I don't know, maybe because I'm your _friend_,'

Sho was one of the only people in the world who could make Hiro so angry. I'd noted it before, but I'd never really thought about how that would work in terms of a serious argument or fight. Actually, I hadn't imagined anything remotely like this before. Maybe it was stupidly naïve, but still …

'A friend? That's what you call yourself?' Sho raised an eyebrow scornfully, clearly trying to provoke Hiro even further, 'If that's the case, then I don't need any friends. _Least of all _you,'

_Wham_

I could see Hiro's whole body shaking, his fist still clenched from when he'd punched Sho directly across the jaw. The ache of his hand would in no way equal the emotional pain he must be feeling due to what Sho had just said. I knew that from personal experience. I knew just how badly it twisted a knife in your heart when someone you cared about spat such poisonous words at you.

Sho straightened from his bent over position, smirking slightly. I could see it in his eyes; the desire to cause pain. Every word, every single word – he wanted them all to be weapons designed to inflict as much hurt as possible to the person he was directing them at. I'd seen that look countless times before, in the eyes of different people from my past, although they'd rarely been looking at me.

'I don't know what you're thinking, but a crazy bastard like you shouldn't even _think_ about laying a finger on me,'

I whirled around, unable to watch while Sho returned the favour, knowing that physically he was a lot stronger than Hiro and, in that state, unlikely to pull his punches. My phone rang abruptly, making me flinch violently, and I pulled it out of my bag, my trembling fingers making it near impossible to answer the call.

'Hello?' I knew that even if I spoke normally, the two outside wouldn't hear a word I said. The woman on the other end of the line spoke in a brisk manner, although her tone was sympathetic, saying what she needed to and asking me if I was alright before ending the call.

My blood ran cold and I closed the phone with numb hands, dropping it back into my schoolbag without a thought. Behind me, the argument continued until all I could hear was the shouting voices of my friends and the lady's voice from the phone repeating again and again, filling my head with noise that grew louder and louder until I wanted to scream. Feeling lost and frightened, I ran away without looking back. Away from the door and back down the corridor, my shoes making little sound against the roaring in my ears. I burst out of the school building but I didn't stop running. My feet carried me through the trees and out of the school gates. And, without another thought, I turned towards the town, unable to go back to the school and unable to return to Hitsugaya's like this. The dark and gloomy skies above me rumbled with thunder, stray droplets of rain splashing down on me as I continued to rush along.

Eventually I arrived at the edge of town and I slumped against the wall of a traditional house, sliding down the damp surface and into a crouch. The eaves provided some shelter from the rain, but I didn't care if I got drenched anyway. Fumbling in my bag for my phone, I slid the back off and removed the battery, unable to control my fingers enough to power it down in the normal manner. Dropping it back into my bag, I wrapped my arms around my legs and pressed my forehead to my knees, focusing on breathing. My eyes stung but I didn't want to admit what that meant.

_Hey, Luka … what should I do?_

* * *

Sometimes, when tears come to me,

I remember our beautiful memories

I hope that you won't be hurt anymore,

And please don't cry

_Don't Cry, _Park Bom

* * *

Thanks as always~~


End file.
